A Wolf Among Gravity Falls
by AdventurousShadows
Summary: Bigby Wolf is a young (looking at least) Fable, who mysteriously finds himself in the small town of Gravity Falls. Of course, if it's weird, it usually involves the Pines Twins, one way or another. AU only references certain events from the series. Now the only WAGF series due to simplification. Reviews are appreciated.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Gravity Falls

Crickets chirped loudly, as the full moon hung high above Gravity Falls. The sleepy town was dead quiet, as the only signs of activity came from the animals in the forest. The animals, and the unique creatures that reside there.

On the edge of the forest, two gnomes had been discussing for the past hour about what to do for dinner. More specifically, they were talking about whether or not they should eat a body they found.

"I say we eat it," One of them stated.

"I don't know Frank. I'm pretty sure that it's still alive. Also, I'm pretty sure it's a human."

The body in question was lying on the ground in front of them, and looked like a teenager, about 15, and was wearing a half-tucked in white dress shirt, a black tie, and brown slacks. His chest was faintly rising up and down.

Frank's eyes were sifting back and forth between his associate and his potential meal. "Uh, no Steve, you silly guy, that's a, uh, business turkey."

Steve's face fell. "You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"Yep! Now bite that turkey!"

"Ok!" Steve exclaimed, his face cheerful as he pounced on the body's arm, giving it a huge chomp.

The body's eyes opened fast, as he shot up, screaming. He ripped the gnome from his arm, before throwing the mystical creature hard at the ground. Frank quickly ran up to his friend's motionless body.

"Frank?" Steve asked, weakly.

"Yes, Steve?"

"Turkeys are mean."

"I know, Steve." Frank said, before looking away, wistfully. "I know..."

A roar of anger earned back the attention of the two gnomes, as the man was now on his feet, his eyes yellow with anger. The gnomes gave a quick yelp of terror, before they scampered away.

"That's right, run you little jerks! With your stupid pointy hats and your stupid blue clothes, and your...stupid beards! And, and they're gone, you're just talking to yourself now." He blinked a couple of times, the yellow in his eyes disappearing into their normal color.

He scanned his surroundings for a second. He had no idea where he was. Come to think of it, he had a hard time remembering anything. Like his name. Or where he's from.

His name was...Bigby! Bigby Wolf! The Big Bad Wolf! He's a fable that lives in the Highlands, and...he had no clue how he got here.

Bigby groaned a little in frustration. He really thought he had it. He noticed the small town nearby, with the large lake close to it. He frowned, not recognizing anything.

He decided to go into town, hoping to find something that can help him. Or at least get a sense of his bearings. As he started walking into town, he decided that he should recite as many facts as he could. Maybe something else will pop into his head.

The Highlands are around New York. The mundies can't see it.

He makes other people uneasy. Due to his reputation, he can understand that.

With the help of Snow White, he's trying to reform and protect the fables around him.

He's a couple thousand years old, but looks like a regular teenager, albeit one with a lot of hair and a underlined urge to kill. Ok, so he's a lot like a teenager.

He eventually got to what seemed like the town square, as a multitude of buildings and businesses surrounded him. He couldn't help but notice how...normal, everything around here was. Well, not normal, but not out and out bizarre either. It's like the townspeople had no idea of the strange things around them.

Like those gnomes that tried to eat him. Note to self, never pass out in the woods again.

He looked up at a water tower in the distance, to read the words 'Gravity Falls' on them.

"Gravity Falls?" He said aloud. He never heard of it before.

This situation was hurting his head. Ok, so the Big Bad Wolf wakes up in a strange place, with no recollection of how he got there. That's weird.

He woke up in a magical forest with a gnome chomping on his arm. That's weirder.

Well, considering the fact that Bigby had no other idea on what to do, he decided that he needed to find the weirdest place in town, and start from there.

"But how am I going to find it?" He asked himself. Just then, he walked past an advertisement in a store window, that had an old man with an eye patch on it, next to a building.

'COME ON DOWN TO THE MYSTERY SHACK! THE WEIRDEST PLACE IN TOWN! _no refunds'_.

Bigby scratched his slightly hairy cheek. "That was easy."

* * *

Dipper could barely keep his eyes open, as he sat at the counter of the Mystery Shack gift shop with Wendy. It was a particularly slow day, and the two had been trying to stave off boredom by playing a game of 'Would You Rather'.

"Your turn," Wendy told him, with a small smile.

Dipper tapped on his chin for a second in thought. "Would you rather only smell feet, or only taste feet?"

Wendy looked at him for a second in silence. Dipper rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"We've been playing this for too long," Dipper stated.

Wendy laughed. "True dude. But I'd rather only smell feet. Who'd want to taste feet?"

The two laughed, before the owner of the Shack came barging in, dressed in his trademark suit. He had a frustrated look on his face.

"Where the heck is everyone!?" Stan asked. "We haven't had a single paying sucker in here all day!"

"Maybe because you keep calling them 'paying suckers'". Wendy reasoned, adding air quotes to the last two words.

"Ah, what do you know?" He responded, before looking around for a second. He then looked at Dipper. "Where's your sister? She's not stuck in the refrigerator again, is she? Cause twice is enough for one week."

"I'm over here!" Mabel called.

Grunkle Stan turned around to see his great niece, wearing a blue sweater with yellow stripes, sitting on the ground next to her beloved pig, who had at least ten Mystery Shack T-shirts over his pudgy body. With all of the shirts on, the pig looked even bigger than usual.

Stan took a second to process the scene in front of him. "Mabel, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see how many T-shirts Waddles can wear!" She explained. Then raised her arms high in the air. "We're going for the record!"

Waddles gave an oink in response.

Stan walked over to the two, looking down at them. He scratched his chin for a second. "Can I sell this?" He asked himself, looking up at the ceiling. "No, no I can't. Mabel, you can't just mess around with the merchandise like that!"

"But Grunkle Staaan," she whined. "There's nothing to do. And we're only 35 T-shirts from breaking the record!"

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Mabel, is that even a recognized record?" He asked.

"Uh huh!" Mabel nodded, before pulling a giant, makeshift book out from behind her. "It's recognized by the Pignness Book of World Records!"

Wendy and Dipper looked at each other for a second, before shrugging.

"Look," Stan started, "I want those shirts off that pig, so I can put them on to other pigs, who will then give me money for them! Pigs in this metaphor is people, by the way."

"I got that," Mabel said.

"Good. NOW STRIP THAT PIG!"

At that instance, the door slammed open, making everyone in the room look at the visitor. He was a young, gruff man, who was smoking a cigarette. He looked around first, before he took a drag of his smoke.

"Sorry about that," Bigby said, looking at the door. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

Stan got a huge smile on his face, as he approached the stranger. "A customer! Welcome to the Mystery Shack! How may I help you? Would you like to buy anything? A Question T-Shirt perhaps?"

Stan then turned quickly to the pig on the ground, before ripping a shirt off of him. Waddles squealed in protest, before Stan presented it to the potential chump.

Bigby raised an eyebrow. "No...thanks..." He said, looking around. "I'm new in town, and it looks like I'm going to be staying here for a while. I hear this is the strangest place in around."

"That's right!" Stan nodded, almost desperate to get any amount of money from this guy. "If you can find weirder things anywhere else, then-" Stan cuts himself off, before he furrows his brow. "That could be a serious problem. Anyway, let me show you around!"

Stan grabs Bigby's arm, and drags him over to a table. "Behold!" Stan bellowed, before he showed Bigby a stuffed beaver with antlers glued on it. "The JackoBeav!"

Bigby didn't look impressed, as the JackoBeav was joined by about five more JackoBeavs, each one with glue obviously showing.

Grunkle Stan's face fell, as he set the phony abomination down. "Not a fan, huh? That's ok, I got a lot more merch that you'll be begging to have!"

"I can't wait," Bigby deadpanned, as Stan walked over to another table. Bigby flicked the ash off his cigarette onto the JackoBeavs, before following.

Meanwhile, Dipper, Wendy, and Mabel were all watching the interaction going on between the two from the counter, studying the new guy.

"He looks like he wants to punch Stan in the face," Wendy said with a smirk. "That'd be cool."

"He's hot!" Mabel exclaimed, as she hugged Waddles.

"Mabel..." Dipper said, exasperated. "He hasn't even been here for five minutes."

"So? Hotness isn't something that takes a while to see! Unless you're heating up a hot glue gun or something," She said, thoughtfully. "Anyway, look at him!"

Bigby had facepalmed while Stan explained a so-called "Unicorn fossil." It was just a slightly melted chocolate bunny without one of it's ears.

"He's so mysterious and serious!" Mabel fangirled on. She then gasped, letting go of Waddles. "He's so beautiful that his characteristics rhyme!"

"Girl, you need to chill out," Wendy said, cooly. "Sure he's cute, but he kinda looks like a jerk. Plus, look at his hair. I have literally no idea what's going on with that."

"I can change him!" Mabel declared.

Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose, as he noticed Waddles slowly walking up to Bigby, who was just half-heartedly giving his attention to Grunkle Stan. He looked down at the pig, who then squealed in fear, before running back to Mabel, who was now staring daggers at the new guy.

"Never mind," Mabel started. "Anyone who scares a poor innocent pig has to be a heartless jerk."

Dipper narrowed his eyes. The guy didn't do anything though. Waddles was just terrified to be around him.

After about the seventh obviously fake 'attraction', Bigby finally snapped. "Look, Mister..."

"Mystery!" Stan said. "Mr. Mystery!"

"Ok, that's not your actual name," Bigby said sharply. "Everything you showed me here today has been nothing but crap. The JackoBeavs are just beavers with glued on antlers, that fossil was just chocolate, and that is not the shrunken head of Abraham Lincoln. That's just a regular shrunken head with a top hat on it."

Stan looked back at the head in question, as it was sitting on a shelf. "Hey, get your facts straight!" Stan told him. "It also has a beard."

"I came here because I saw your ad, and I thought I would-"

Bigby cut himself off. Almost gave too much away there.

"-See some interesting stuff. But the only interesting thing here, is that everything is a sham!"

"Look pal, everything here is the genuine article!"

"On the ad, you were wearing an eye patch."

Stan went quiet for a moment. "I'm...wearing my contacts today."

"Oh for god's sake, you're wearing glasses! And that wouldn't make sense either way!" Bigby growled.

"Ok, if you're not going to buy something, then you're going to have to go," Stan told him.

"That suits me just-"

Bigby stopped talking when he noticed a book sitting on a table next to him. It had a six-fingered hand on the cover, with the number 3 on it.

"What's this?" He asked, as he picked up the book and started to flip through it.

Dipper's eyes widened in panic. "Hey!" He yelled, as he ran up to the taller man, jumping up to grab the book. "That's my journal!"

Bigby barely heard him, as he was skimming through the contents of the journal. He bared his teeth at a picture of the gnomes, but quickly realized that everything about this town was in this book.

"Give me back my journal!" Dipper yelled again. Bigby looked down at the boy, as he just realized what was happening.

"This is yours?" He asked, a bit confused as he lowered the book down to the boy.

Dipper immediately snatched it away. "Yes, it is. And I would appreciate it if jerks with weird hair didn't touch it!"

Bigby squinted his eyes, before gently patting his hair. He then went down on one knee, to get level with the paranormal investigator.

"What's your name?" He asked, nicely.

Dipper looked at him in suspicion. "What's yours?"

"Fair enough," the fable shrugged. "My name's Bigby Wolf," he introduced, as he stuck his hand out.

Dipper had a weird feeling when he heard that name. Like it was familiar. "I'm Dipper Pines," he told him, as he shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Listen, I'm really interested in that journal. I feel like it could help me out somehow. Is there any chance I could borrow it?"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Mabel yelled, as she walked next to Dipper. "There's no way anyone is taking that journal from him!"

"Oh, come on," Bigby persisted. "I'll promise I'll be careful with it."

"Yeah, nice try," Dipper started, "But no one gets to have this journal but me."

Bigby studied the twins for a few moments, as he took another drag of his cigarette. Something tells him that they're smarter than they look. That they know things.

Bigby stood back up. "Alright, how about this. I won't take the journal. I would like it if you could help me out though."

Dipper furrowed his brow. "Why would we help you out?"

"I could make it worth your while," he tempted. He didn't feel right negotiating with a 12-year old. It felt odd. "Say, pizza and ice cream?"

Mabel's eyes widened in excitement. "You'll take us to Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree!?"

"Uh, I guess?" Bigby said, tentatively. "Is that the only place that has pizza and ice cream around here?"

"Well, there's a lot of places that sell them separately," Mabel explained, "but that particular yummy combo is only at Hoo-Ha's. Not to mention the singing robots!"

"Ugh," Dipper shuddered. "Please don't mention the singing robots."

Bigby rolled his eyes at the idea of singing robots. "Fine, meet me there tomorrow at three."

Stan then stormed up right in front of Bigby. "Hold on there Cheapo Creepo. I don't want you anywhere near my kids! I'm there guardian for the summer, and I'll be damned if I get arrested for child endangerment! That's the one charge I don't have!"

Bigby sighed. "Would it make you feel better if they brought a chaperone or something?"

"Oh, we could bring Soos! He loves that place!" Mabel suggested. Dipper still looked uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Stan looked at the twins in deep thought, trying to decide what to do. He then turned back to Bigby. "Alright Wolfy, if the kids really want to do it, then they can go. But I'm giving Soos permission to kill."

 _Good luck with that,_ Bigby thought. He then took the cigarette out of his mouth, before dropping it to the ground and crushing it with his foot. "Tomorrow at three," he reminded the kids. "See you then."

With that, he turned on his heel and went out the front door. Wendy then joined the others from behind the counter.

"That...was something," she said.

Dipper hummed to himself in curiosity. There was something off about Bigby Wolf. And he was going to figure out what.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting at Hoo-Ha's

**A/N: Hello! I probably should of done this on the first chapter, but whatever. This is my first story on FanFiction, and I'm still trying to figure some things out. I'd like to thank everybody who's reading this, as it means that I'm not totally wasting my time. I'd just like to take a moment and explain a few things.**

 **Bigby in this story is from the Highlands, the place the fables lived before they were driven out. I wanted to make Bigby a bit more relatable to the others, so I made him look more like a teen than an adult. Fabletown doesn't exist yet, and Bigby is just starting to become the sheriff of his land.**

 **Now this doesn't exactly follow the series to a tee, which is why Mayor Befuttlefumpter is still alive. There's a good chance that some of the revelations from the show will be made, but I also want to put some originality here. Lastly, if the tone seems off, I apologize. This humor is really unique and can make it difficult to find. I'd like to think I'm doing a good job though. Enjoy!**

* * *

The morning after the meeting with the town's newest resident, Dipper and Mabel were hanging out in their room. Dipper was on his bed, chewing on a pen and thinking about Bigby's proposal, while Mabel was reading a pre-teen magazine on hers. She was wearing a yellow sweater with clouds on it.

"I don't think we should go to Hoo-Ha's," he told his twin, who stopped reading an article about a new boy band to look at her brother.

"Why?" She asked. "I thought we were all excited to go."

"YOU were all excited to go," Dipper corrected. "I can't stand that place since .GIFany tried to kill us. Besides, that's not the reason I don't want to go."

"Oh, you don't want to help Mister Gruff."

Dipper nodded. "There's something I don't trust about him. I mean...I don't know. Something isn't right."

"Maybe he's a cop!" Mabel reasoned.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Why would you say that?"

Mabel shrugged. Dipper rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he continued, "it's just that anyone who's wanted this journal has been up to something. Bill, Gideon, and now Bigby."

Mabel snickered slightly. "Bigby..." she giggled. "Such a weird name."

"I don't want to go," Dipper said. With that, the smile on Mabel's face fell.

"But Dipper, I already told Soos about it. And he was really excited about going."

Dipper sighed. He knew how much that place meant to Soos. Even after he almost got killed, it was still the handyman's favorite place in the world. "I don't know..."

"The worst that can happen is that we leave. It's a public place Dipper. What's he going to do?"

Dipper looked at Mabel in surprise. "That's actually a well-thought out point. When did you turn so smart?"

Mabel gave a huge, metal smile. "Well, I did put like thirty smarty stickers on my head when I woke up this morning. Do you want one?"

"Heh, no thank you Mabel, I-"

"Boop!" She interrupted, as she stuck a sticker of a brain on Dipper's head. "Now you'll be ready for anything!" She told him, as he didn't look convinced.

"Let's just get Soos and do this," He said, getting out of his bed, and bringing the journal with him.

* * *

Bigby was sitting down at Hoo-ha's, and currently had his fingers jammed into his ears, as the animatronics sang the exact same song that he's heard 834 times by now. Ok, that might be an exaggeration, but it was getting on his nerves.

He looked around at the children's play place, as tiny kids ran around, shouting at the top of their lungs. Like animals.

And coming from him, that actually means something. He swears, if those kids stood him up, there is going to be hell to pay. At least for those animatronics. Any more of that stupid song, and Bigby might just rip their legs off.

-  
After a ten minute drive, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos finally pulled up to Hoo-Ha's in Soos' truck. The three then jump out.

"Ok little dudes," Soos said, "Mr. Pines told me that I'm your bodyguard for the day. If anyone tries anything to get to you guys, I'm suppose to stop it."

Soos then notices a woman, who has a camera pointed at something nearby. Soos grabs the camera, and then smashes it to the ground. "No flash photography!" He tells the woman, who gives him a scowl before leaving. Soos then turns back to the twins with a smile. "I'm pretty good at this."

"We'll be ok, Soos," Dipper assured. "We're just going to talk to this guy real quick, get some pizza, and get out."

"And play some games!" Mabel added. "I want to get that fluffy pink notebook I saw in there the other day. And then decorate it with these!" Mabel exclaimed, as she pulled out a couple of odd looking, purplish flowers.

"Where did you get those?" Dipper asked.

"I found them behind the Mystery Shack," she explained. "Look how cool they are." She then started to wave them around. "WoooOooOo. Crazy flowers. WooOooOooO."

Dipper sighed. "Can we just get this over with?" He asks, making Mabel frown, and having her stick the flowers in her pocket.

"Relax bro," Soos said, "This'll be fun. It's always fun at Hoo-Ha's. It's like they put a spell on that place or something." Soos then furrowed his brow in thought, before his eyes widened in shock. He gasped. "It all makes sense! It's a conspiracy!"

The twins shared a blank look with each other, before they go and enter the restaurant. After a moment with his jaw agape, Soos followed.

Once inside, they looked around, to see Bigby hunched over a table, drinking a soda. He then notices them, and waves the Mystery Group over.

"That's their chaperone? Looks like a human seal," He mumbled to himself, as Mabel bounded towards him, and quickly sat in the chair across from him.

"Hi!" The hyperactive girl greeted, as she takes her seat across from him.

"Um, hi, uh..."

"Mabel!" She introduced, quickly figuring out that he didn't know her name. She stuck her hand out, as Bigby took it and gently shook it. Dipper and Soos soon joined them, and sat down next to the girl. Dipper had set the journal down on the table, as Bigby eyed it with interest. He then took a drink of his soda.

"Whoa dudes, you were right," Soos started, "He does have crazy hair."

Bigby furrowed his brow in annoyance. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Soos, but my friends call me Soos."

Bigby raised a finger, as he looked like he was about to say something. Thinking better of it, he then went back to his normal demeanor.

"So," Dipper said, "Why do you want the journal?"

Bigby looked at the young boy with a hard stare. To be honest, Bigby had no idea what he wanted. It was obvious something strange was happening. People don't just wake up on the other side of the country for no reason. But he doesn't know weather the answers are back at the Highlands, or here in Gravity Falls.

Considering some of the weird things he's seen, he has a feeling it might be here.

"How about we get some pizza first, bro?" Soos asked. "I'm starved!"

Bigby looked at the portly man. A wolfish grin got on his face. "You know, I hear you can win a free pizza if you beat the high score on SkeeBall."

"Seriously!?" Soos exclaimed. "I'm like, scary good at SkeeBall. Like, I frighten myself sometimes when I play." Soos then shivered at the thought. "See?"

"Yeah, you're scaring me a little too," Bigby told him. "Why don't you see if you can win?"

Soos stood up with determination. "It's my destiny," he stated, as he quickly walked away.

"As for you," Bigby started, looking at Mabel, "it looks like you just want to have some fun."

"Well, pshgoy," Mabel scoffed. "I'm only the most fun-loving person in the entire universe."

Bigby then pulled ten bucks out from his pocket, and handed it to Mabel. "How about you play some games? Win some tickets? Just go nuts?"

Mabel stared wide-eyed at the money. She carefully took it, as she stared at it in wonderment. "Use this power for good, Mabel..." she whispered to herself. She then shook her head. "What am I saying? I'm totally going to abuse this!" She admitted, as she took off, laughing evilly.

"Wait, guys!" Dipper called, realizing that he was now alone with the man. Bigby stared at him, as if deciding on what to do.

"Alright, kid," he began, "I know you're smart. Smarter than you look."

"Hey, I look smart!" Dipper defended.

"You look like a plate of spaghetti with a head attached. But that's not important. What is important is the fact that you can help me."

Dipper was suspicious. "Help you with what?"

"I need to know if there's some of the...weird occurrences that happen around here in that book. Stuff that could transport things."

Dipper didn't like this. Why did this guy need to know about this? And why was he so willing to accept the strange stuff that happens around town? "Why do you want to know?"

Bigby sighed. "I can't really tell you that. There are things you wouldn't understand. Things that would make you think I'm crazy."

"I already think you're crazy." Dipper snarked.

"Oh good. And here I was worrying about my reputation." Bigby stated. "Here's an idea. How about instead of giving me an attitude, you help me get some answers!?" The fable snarled, making Dipper sink back in his chair.

Realizing what he was doing, Bigby took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about that. I can get worked up sometimes."

Dipper didn't look convinced.

Bigby straightened his tie. "Look Dipper, I'm not your enemy. Don't make me into one." He warned. "I just want some answers about this town. I'm guessing you're in the same boat?"

Dipper seemed to relax a little. "Well, yes, but-"

"Hey guys!" Mabel yelled, as she popped back up next to the table, startling both the fable and the mystery hunter. "Mr. Wolf, thank you so much for that ten dollars! I bribed the guy at the prize counter with it, and now I have-This!"

With that, Mabel raised a fluffy, pink notebook high above her head, while she made a broken sound of angelic music. She then slammed it on the table, knocking over Bigby's soft drink. Dipper barely had time to pick up his Journal in response.

"Mabel!" Dipper complained. "Be careful!"

She giggled. "Sorry Dipping Sauce, I'm just soooooo excited! Look, I can finally call this book my own! I can make my own journal! Only with fun and colorful stuff. Like glitter! Or fashion articles!" She then took the purple flowers out of her pocket, and started swinging them wildly in the air. "Or these!"

In her excitement, Mabel accidentally stuck the flowers in Bigby's face, making him growl in pain as he recoiled back, standing up and violently knocking over his chair in the process. "Get that crap out of my face!" He yelled, his eyes turning yellow. Dipper noticed, as his eyes widened in surprise.

Mabel quickly took the flowers away, as Bigby covered his face. "I'm so sorry!" Mabel apologized, a worried expression on her face. "It was an accident! I didn't get it in your eye, did I?"

Bigby snarled. "I-I gotta go." He declared, as he quickly made his way out of the restaurant, as the other customers watched in confusion.

Dipper and Mabel stood next to each other, studying the direction Bigby fled in. After a few moments, Soos also joined them.

"Turns out Skeeball is shut down right now. Some little guy got stuck in one of the scoring holes." Soos then clapped his hands. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Did you see his eyes?" Dipper questioned his twin. "They just turned yellow!"

"Do you think he had allergies?" Mabel asked, feeling a little bad at hurting Bigby like that. Dipper looked at the flowers that were still in her hand.

"Can I see those real quick?" Dipper asked. Mabel handed him the flowers, as he looked at them thoroughly. "These look familiar." He mumbled, before he opened up his journal and flipped through the pages. Finally, he found the page he was looking for.

"Oh my gosh! Do you know what these are?" Dipper exclaimed.

"Pretty?" Soos tried to answer.

"They're wolf's bane!" Dipper said, as he lowered his Journal. "Guys, I think Bigby's...a werewolf!"

* * *

Bigby was breathing heavily, as he ran away from the pizzeria. After a few seconds, he regained his composure, rubbing his eyes as he adjusted to the light of the sun. When he was done, his eyes reverted back to white.

"Just breath, Bigby," he told himself. "There's no way that she knew that would hurt you." He then scowled at his realization. "But now Dipper knows. Ugh! That brat's too smart not to figure it out! He knows!"

Bigby wanted to kick himself. Dipper could be a problem. Especially if he knew his weaknesses. The werewolf didn't look forward to seeing that kid again. Not if he was going to try and kill the fable.

He patted his body, trying to find his carton of Huff N Puffs. After a few seconds of searching, he gave up, deciding that he must of lost them at Hoo-Ha's. He just hoped some dumb kid wouldn't take them.

He walked down the sidewalk, cars passing by him on the road. He put his hands in his pockets, as he began to mope. He wasn't sure what to do next. The kids probably know his secret now, he's thousands of miles away from home, and he has no idea if it would even be a good idea to try and go back.

Something brought him here. He wasn't going to leave until he figured out what it was.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he stumbled upon a completely destroyed building, which was being swarmed by a group of townspeople.

Two police officers, one short and fat, the other tall and thin, were trying to keep them away from the scene, as they put caution tape around the destroyed rubble.

"People, people!" Sheriff Blubs shouted. "We have everything under control! Please remain calm while we investigate the mangled debris of this building!"

The other officer then stopped what he was doing, and looked at his partner. "Wait, we're suppose to be investigatin'?" Deputy Durland asked. "I thought we was just cleaning up. I threw out about 15 piles of evidence!"

Blubs sputtered in anger for a second, before he sighed. "Aw Durland, I can't stay mad at you. Even when you prove how incompetent we truly are. Wanna get some ice cream?"

"Do I!?" Durland exclaimed, excitedly. The two police officers then left the scene, leaving the crowd of people to converse with themselves.

Bigby soon joined the crowd, as he studied the wreck of the building. "What happened?" He asked.

He suddenly was grabbed by a short man with a press hat, and was holding a microphone. "Toby Determined of the Gravity Falls Gossiper. What have you heard about City Hall getting demolished, stranger?" He interrogated, as he pushed the microphone under Bigby's mouth.

"What?" Bigby managed to say, still confused by what's happening. "I just got here. I have no idea what's happening." Bigby sniffed the microphone, and noticed it had a plastic scent. "Is that a toy microphone?"

Toby lowered his head in shame. "I was hoping no one would notice," he stated, as he sulked off. Bigby shook his head after a second, and decided to get a closer look.

He pushed himself through the chattering crowd, who didn't pay any attention to the new teenager in town. He ended up right in front of the caution tape, to see the giant mess of the wood and stone that was covering the ground.

"What happened?" Bigby asked aloud. A man in a suit nearby, accompanied by an old man in a wheel chair, answered him.

"The mayor says that the entire building shook, and collapsed. When we came over, the mayor over here was outside the building, and he was on fire."

"I was still cold," the decrepit old mayor drawled out.

The fable stared at the wreck in silence for a few moments. He then turned his head to the mayor, surprised that the geezer made it out alive.

"Any chance I can get in the crime scene, Mister Mayor?"

"Why would I care? I'll be dead in a month." He bluntly said with a smile.

With that, Bigby ducked under the police tape, and started his own investigation. It was painfully obvious to him that supernatural forces were at work here, and that those idiot cops wouldn't be able to find anything.

He looked at the wood, and how it splintered off. Bigby studied the patterns of the breaks, and realized that most of them came to a point.

"It looks like someone broke them with something," he mumbled to himself. He noticed some slash marks in other beams of wood.

He walked around a little, searching for anything that could give him a clue. He felt a light crunch under his feet, making the fable freeze in place. He looked down, to see he was stepping in light sheets of ashes.

He looked at another piece of wood, to see burn marks in the shape of a handprint.

"What the hell is going on?" He wondered, as he continued on his investigation. He looked at a pillar that was miraculously still standing, only to find a sharp woodcutting axe in it. Next to the pillar was a small flame that was still burning.

Bigby walked up to the pillar, and looked down at the flame. He quickly stomped it out before it could cause any more problems, and then looked at the axe. He hunched over slightly to get a better look at it, and saw that there was some writing on the side of it. However, since it was stuck in the wood, Bigby couldn't read it.

"Worth a shot..." Bigby grumbled, as he put a firm grip on the handle of the axe, and started to pull. After a couple of forceful tugs, the axe came out.

"Gotcha!" Bigby exclaimed in triumph, holding the axe above his head. The pillar slowly started to wobble, before falling over on the wolf, who yelped in pain as it knocked him to the ground.

He moaned slightly, realizing that the pillar was still on top of him. "Losing architecture," he complained, as he pushed the pillar off of him and got to his feet.

He then looked at the axe in his hands, feeling a little uncomfortable. He always had a thing with axes. Especially after an incident with a little girl and a tree cutter. He read the inscription on the blade of the weapon.

 _'MANLY DAN'S AXE. IF FOUND RETURN TO MANLY DAN, OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND PILEDRIVE YOU INTO THE GROUND!'_

"Violent fella, huh?" He asked himself. He walked out of the slightly smoldering wreck, and back to the crowd of people. "Does anyone know where 'Manly Dan' lives?" He yelled, getting everyone's attention.

In unison, every person looked at the young man, and pointed to their right.

"Uh, thanks," Bigby said, before quickly going in the direction they pointed. "Freaks," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

 **Bigby's discovered a mystery! What will happen? How will Dipper react to finding out Bigby's a werewolf? Will that child ever get out of the skeeball machine? Find out next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Strange Town, Strange Things

"There has to be something in these books."

The Pines twins had gone straight to the town library after Dipper's revelation about Bigby. Dipper was currently studying the Journal at a desk, while also looking at another book. Mabel was searching for any books about werewolves or similar legends, and bringing the huge stacks back to Dipper.

Mabel sat down next to her brother. "Did you find anything?" She asked, hopefully.

Dipper sighed. "No, not yet. It seems like the author only had a limited experience with werewolves. One attacked him in the woods, and he fended him off with wolf's bane."

"That's it?"

"That's it." Dipper confirmed, sadly. A thought then popped into his head. "Where's Soos?"

As in response, Soos walked up to the two with his face in a book. "Dudes, did you know that bunnies can jump up to 15 feet in the air?" He closed the book, and held it close to his chest. "So majestic."

Dipper was a little annoyed. "Soos, we're trying to figure out a way to stop Bigby. If he does anything, we're pretty sure that wolf's bane isn't going to cut it."

Soos was confused. "Why not, bro?"

"Apparently, he has to eat the flower for it to do any real damage," Mabel answered, as she was hanging upside down on her chair.

Soos frowned. "Are you even sure the guy's a werewolf? Like, maybe he just doesn't like those flowers."

"Soos, who wouldn't like those flowers?" Mabel reasoned, moving herself right side up "He has to be a werewolf."

Dipper rubbed his head in frustration. "I'm pretty sure it's a full moon tonight. We need to think of something and think of it fast."

Soos scratched his belly. "What about silver? Don't werewolves hate silver stuff?"

Dipper's eyes widened, as he looked at Soos with a big smile. "Soos, you're a genius!"

"That's what I've been sayin'." He said proudly.

Dipper laughed giddily. "We just have to get some silver! That'll stop Bigby cold!"

Mabel rubbed her chin. "You know, I'm starting to think 'Bigby' is more than just a funny name. I mean, it's hilarious, but it sounds...familiar..."

Dipper closed up his journal, and jumped out of his chair. "Come on, we need to get some silver, and hunt him down before he can hurt anyone."

Dipper and Soos left, with Mabel following behind them, trying to figure out where she's heard the werewolf's name before.

* * *

Bigby had been walking for the past 20 minutes, axe in hand, eventually leaving the town and entering the forest. As the sun was slowly starting to set, Bigby groaned at how far the house seemed to be from the rest of Gravity Falls.

"Then again, I'd probably do the same," he said to himself. He perked up when he made out a wooden cabin, with an RV sitting next to it.

"Finally," he said, as he walked up to the front door. With the axe hanging on his side, he gave a very loud knock on the door.

"Ok, figure out why the guy had his axe at the scene, and take him down if you have to." He mumbled to himself. "It shouldn't be much of a fight, no matter how 'Manly' this guy is suppose to be."

The Fable immediately had second thoughts the second the front door opened, to see a hulking behemoth of a man squeeze through the threshold, and tower over Bigby. Thick, red body hair threatened to escape from his shirt, as his muscles bulged dangerously.

"Oh crap..." Bigby whispered to himself, his eyes going slightly wide at the sight of the man.

"What do you want?" Manly Dan demanded. "I was in the middle of doing my hourly 10 dozen push-ups."

Bigby looked wide eyed at the man for a second, before jumping slightly at realization that he was staring. "Oh, I found this, uh, axe, and-"

"My axe!" Manly Dan exclaimed happily, cutting off the werewolf's stuttering and grabbing it from him. "Good Ol' Righty! I thought I lost you forever!" He gasped in shock. "Why is part of your wood darker than the rest?"

Bigby straightened his tie, as he slowly became more comfortable around the human tank. "Your axe was found in the middle of the City Hall wreck. Do you have any idea why it would be there?"

Dan narrowed his eyes at Bigby, as he swung the axe over his shoulder. "Are you trying to say that I did that? Because I'll rip your head off if you are!"

"I just want to know if there's anything you might know about it," Bigby claimed. "The more info I have, the easier this thing can be solved. Ok?"

Manly Dan seemed to calm down slightly, as he considered his point. "Alright, you did get my axe back. What do you want to know?"

"Where was the last place you used your axe?" Bigby asked, getting control of the situation.

"I used it at the family cutting lot about a week ago," he answered. "That's where real men like me cut down wood for wimps like you."

"Can you show me?" Bigby questioned, hopefully.

"I'd love to, but those push-ups need to be done!" He exclaimed, in his overly masculine way. "But I can get one of my kids to get you there." Manly Dan then turned his head back to his house. "WENDY!" He bellowed. "GET DOWN HERE!"

"Coming!" Bigby heard a feminine voice come from the house. After a few moments, a red headed girl wearing a brown trapper hat came out.

Wendy's eyes immediately widened in anger at the sight of Bigby. "You!"

"You!?" Bigby exclaimed, instantly recognizing her from the Mystery Shack.

"Wendy, don't be rude!" Manly Dan scolded. "This little man brought my axe back, and needs our help! Show him to the cutting yard."

Wendy looked at her father in surprise. "Dad, you can't be serious! This guy's a jerk!"

"So was that Robbie kid, but you didn't seem to mind!" Dan retorted. "Now stop arguing and help him out! I have to destroy the rest of my push-ups!"

With that declaration, Manly Dan squeezed with a grunt back into his home, and had shut the door behind him. Wendy stared at the fable with angry eyes, and crossed arms.

Bigby stared back at the red head. "Something tells me that you're a very friendly person," he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?" She asked, with little patience.

"I'm investigating what happened to City Hall," he answered, earning a confused expression from Wendy.

"Why?"

Bigby shrugged. "Cause I was bored," he said nonchalantly. Wendy wasn't convinced, and stepped threateningly towards him.

"I don't know what your game is, but I don't like it," she told him.

"Pardon?" Bigby sarcastically asked, now purposely trying to get under her skin.

"You come here out of nowhere, you act like a jerk to one of my friends, and now you're trying to solve some mystery? You're up to something."

Bigby rolled his eyes. "I get it, you don't like or trust me. I completely understand. Now can you show me this cutting lot before I lose my mind?"

Wendy smirked. "Fine, whatever, but I'm pretty sure you already lost your mind."

Bigby was confused. "Why would you say that?"

"It's the only explanation for your hair," she sniped, pointing at his mane, before she started to walk away. Bigby stared holes at the back of her head.

"Why is everyone giving me crap about my hair?" He murmured, following the Corduroy girl.

* * *

Dipper, Mabel, and Soos poked their heads around the corner of the living room of the Mystery Shack, watching Grunkle Stan as he slept in his chair, wearing his usual relaxation attire. Next to him was a small coffee table, which had a large jar of silver dollars on it. On the jar, a label was taped on, with crude handwriting which said 'STAN'S SILVER DOLLARS, DO NOT TOUCH'.

The trio huddled together, and started to whisper. "Ok," Dipper started, "There's no way we're going to be able to get that jar without waking up Stan. We need a plan."

Mabel hums in thought, before she snapped her fingers. "I got it!" She exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Here's what we do..."

Grunkle Stan started snoring, mumbling in his sleep. "I thought we were going to be treasure hunters..."

Suddenly, Soos jumps across the room, landing belly first on the hard floor with a loud thud.

The noise wakes Stan up with a startled snort, while Soos rolls out of the room. "What the-!?" He exclaims, before Mabel appeared next to him, wearing a scary, green monster mask, and started screaming loudly.

"What's happening!?" Stan yelled, as Mabel let out another blood-curdling scream. "I'm confused and terrified!" He exclaimed, while Mabel let out yet another scream, making Stan jump to his feet, and flee the room, yelling in terror.

When her Grunkle is gone, Mabel takes off her mask, revealing a wide smile. She then grabs the jar of silver dollars, and presents them to her brother.

"Here ya go bro-bro!" She says to the smiling boy, as he takes the jar.

Dipper laughs. "That was great!" He says, as the two twins high five. "And the best part was that no one got hurt!"

"I THINK I'M HAVING A HEARTATTACK!" Grunkle Stan cried in the other room, making the twins look in that direction with blank faces. After a few seconds, they look back at each other, smiling.

* * *

Bigby and Wendy walked in silence, as they slowly made their way to the cutting yard. Wendy looked over at the stranger, with an uneasy feeling. She really didn't like this creep. She still couldn't get over it, even though it was starting to annoy her. This crazy looking guy comes out of nowhere, find Dipper's weird mystery book, and then does whatever he could to try and get it. She got the feeling he was trying to manipulate the kid, and that would not fly.

Bigby noticed the teenager staring at him. "What?" He growled.

Wendy shrugged. "Nothing. Just wondering how long you'll be staying."

Bigby looked like he was thinking for a moment, before he huffed. "I'm going to guess for a while."

Wendy started to get interested. "So, you're going to go to school here?"

"What?"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "You know, school? That thing people our age are forced to go to? Seriously, what's up with you?"

Bigby rubbed the back of his head. He had to remember, she thinks he's just a regular teenager. "I guess I hadn't thought about it. Looks like I am going to school here..."

"Pfft," Wendy scoffed. "Obvs."

"Obvs?"

"Seriously, who the hell are you?"

Before he could respond, Bigby tripped over something, falling to the ground with an "ompff".

"Ow..." he grumbled, bringing himself back to his feet. When he looked down, he saw a broken tree trunk, with slight singe marks.

Furrowing his brow, Bigby then looked around, to see that they had arrived at the Corduroy family clearing. His and Wendy's eyes widened, realizing that the rest of the area had damage similar to the tree trunk. There were broken trees everywhere, with ashes and brunt bark everywhere. There was a large, mechanical saw that had black marks over the yellow paint on the sides.

Bigby looked over at Wendy, who looked disturbed at the sight. "What happened here?"

Bigby didn't answer, as he started to investigate the scene. He doubted that he would find much here, considering the fact that it's mostly ash. However, he continued to look for clues, hoping to find something.

Wendy looked around as well, surveying the damage. She really hoped that this damage wouldn't effect her family that badly. Lord knows they've gone through some real struggles.

Suddenly, her cellphone started ringing, making her groan. She took it out of her pocket, before tapping the screen to answer it. "Hello?"

"Wendy, it's me!" She heard Dipper's voice on the other end.

"Dipper, any chance I can call you back? Now's not the best time..."

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to help us hunt down Bigby!" Dipper asked.

Wendy got a perplexed expression on her face, as she looked over at Bigby, who was currently studying the saw and was a couple yards away from her.

"Why are you hunting him down?" She asked in a hushed tone, hoping he didn't hear her.

"We're almost certain he's a werewolf, and tonight's a full moon! We want to stop him before he does something!" He said, as Mabel was saying something about "more silver" in the background.

Wendy's eyes widened in panic. She looked back at Bigby, who was still examining the saw, before she hunched over slightly with her phone. "Dip, I'm with Bigby right now!" She hissed into her phone.

"What!?"

"He was investigating something, and my dad made me show him the family cutting yard."

"What!?" Dipper exclaimed again. "Wendy, listen to me carefully. You need to try and keep him there for as long as possible. I'll make my way right over, just try not to let him suspect you!"

"Really? I haven't thought of that!" She sarcastically retorted.

"Ok, that was a dumb thing to say. I'm going over there as fast as I can, just try to hold out!" Dipper ordered, hanging up the phone before looking back at his sister and friend, who were melting the silver dollars into a mold for a dagger.

"Dipper, what's going on?" Mabel asked, concerned as her brother started gathering his things.

"Bigby's over by Wendy! And the sun's starting to set! I need to get over there before he hurts her!" He frantically told her, as he picked up some wolf's bane, before jumping into the Mystery Cart.

"Meet me at Manly Dan's cutting yard when you're done with the dagger," He told them, before driving away like the wind.

"Jeez, that's kinda scary," Soos bluntly stated. "Bigby's just out in the woods with Wendy? That's like, horror movie material right there."

"Ugh!" Mabel groaned, hitting her forehead with her hand. "That stupid name sounds so familiar! Where do I know that name from!?" She yelled, distraught at her memory failing her.

Soos shrugged. "I don't know. But you'll think of it eventually. Just gotta take your mind off it. Oh! That reminds me!"

Soos searched around in his pocket, before pulling out a carton of cigarettes. "Check it out!"

Mabel raised an eye brow. "Uh Soos, I didn't know you smoked..."

Soos waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I don't. I just took it cause I liked the name on it. Heh, look, it's like, totally ridiculous."

Mabel took the carton, and read the label. "Huff N Puffs?" She read aloud. She then giggled. "That's such a weird name!" She giddily stated. "Where did you find this?"

"I found it at Hoo-Ha's right before we left. I think it was that Bigby guy's."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Huff N Puff?" She asked herself slowly. "Bigby...Bigby Wolf...Big...by...Wolf!?" She exclaimed, looking back at the carton of smokes. "Huff N Puff! Big Bad Wolf! OH MY GOSH SOOS!"

"Whoa, calm down there," Soos told her. "You look like you're going to explode or something."

"Soos, don't you get it!?" She exclaimed, jumping up on Soos and scrunching his face up. "Bigby's not just a regular wolf! He's the Big Bad Wolf!"

* * *

Wendy stared at the back of Bigby's head, trying to collect her thoughts and keep her cool façade up.

The teenager that came out of nowhere is a werewolf. Coming from anyone else, she would of laughed it off, but Dipper usually wasn't wrong about these things.

Bigby was sifting through a large pile of ashes, trying to figure the situation out. He picked up a hand full, and sniffed it.

"Weird..." He said to himself, making Wendy snap out of her thoughts.

"What?" She asked, like she was just talking to a normal person.

"These ashes don't smell like normal ashes. There's something...off, about them," he explained. "More of a sulfur smell than it should be."

Bigby stopped talking when the sound of twigs breaking filled his ears. "Did you hear that?" He asked the red head.

"Hear what?"

The cracking of twigs and shuffling of bushes was even louder now. "That!" He said, as he started looking around, defensively.

Inwardly, Wendy was celebrating. _Dipper's already here!? Great! That was fast!_

Her thoughts were dashed when she heard a growl come from behind the trees. Bigby was getting ready to fight.

There was a tense moment of silence, as all the sounds suddenly came to a stop. The only noise was from the Fable's and teen's breathing.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a burst of bright orange fire blasted past some bushes, burning them to a crisp in a second. The fire stopped in the middle of the cutting yard, as it slowly began to form into a shape.

"Bigby...?" Wendy asked, as the fire started to form the figure of a monster. A huge monster.

It was at least 12 feet tall, with two arms and two legs. Its head started to form a point, as the moving flame started to develop white slits for eyes, and a fanged mouth. The flame then looked dead at Wendy.

"Corduroy!" It roared, as it rose threateningly off the ground, transforming into a flowing pillar of destruction. It launched itself at the duo.

"Move!" Bigby growled, as he grabbed Wendy and jumped out of the way, rolling on the ground and avoiding the fire monster.

They quickly got back to their feet, as Bigby's eyes turned yellow. He looked back at the lumberjack's daughter. "Stay back!" He ordered. Wendy complied, as she quickly backed away from the fight. He turned back to the hostile flame, who was quickly shifting back into its monstrous form.

"Who are you!?" Bigby demanded.

"I am the Walking Inferno," it seethed in a distorted voice. "And I will be the end of the Corduroys!"


	4. Chapter 4: Attack of the Walking Inferno

Wendy stared wide-eyed at the impossible beast she was looking at.

The Walking Inferno. A living, breathing embodiment of fire. Flames whipped off of its body dangerously, the light from its body mixing with the backdrop of dusk, as the creature stared right back at her with intense malice. Right now, the only thing standing between her, and a fiery grave, was Bigby.

Welp, she had a good run.

Bigby, with his eyes yellow, was hunched over defensively, waiting for a fight. "Why are you trying to hurt the Corduroys?" He asked, still trying to piece the story together.

The monster looked at the werewolf, locking his white slits with Bigby's yellow eyes, refusing to show weakness. "You would not understand..." The Walking Inferno replied, his voice distorting the words ever so slightly.

Bigby hated hearing this thing speak. Its voice was sandpaper to his ears, but Bigby wanted to see if he can talk it down. "Try me."

Wendy's eyes shifted back and forth between the two freaks. The apparent werewolf is having a conversation with a 13 foot tall, talking campfire. This is so weird.

The Walking Inferno seemed to be interested in Bigby's request. "You are no mere mortal, are you?"

Bigby tried not to bare his teeth, as his temper was slowly getting the best of him.

"Many decades ago, I was just a human lumberjack. My name was Bernard Williams. I was the greatest lumberjack in all of Gravity Falls. The people would be amazed at my feats of strength, at how fast I could cut down a tree, and of course, my fire chopping technique. It's when you set the tree slightly on fire, and then cut it down."

"So why do you hate the Corduroys?" Bigby impatiently asked.

"I was getting to that!" The Inferno complained. With a sigh, it continued. "Then one day, Toddsworth Corduroy came to town. He immediately put all other lumberjacks on notice, as he began cutting more trees than anyone in town history. But he went too far..."

The Inferno shook his head in annoyance. "He stole my fire chopping technique! Everyone went to him for fire chopping, when I was the one who invented it! So, I tweaked it. Everyday I used more fire, and more fire, and more fire, until the forest just couldn't withstand the flames. I was burnt alive in a forest fire, all because of that blasted Corduroy!"

Bigby furrowed his brow, as he started to piece things together. "So you're an apparition? That manifests itself with fire?"

"Correct."

Bigby quickly solved the rest of the puzzle. "You destroyed City Hall. You destroyed Manly Dan's cutting yard, took his axe, and tried to frame him to ruin his name."

The monster was taken a back, but regained its menacing posture. "You're smarter than you look."

"I get that a lot," Bigby growled.

"But I know you found that axe first. Which means that I cannot disgrace their family name." The Inferno looked at Wendy, standing a few feet behind the fable. "But I can end their bloodline."

"No!" Bigby yelled, as the Walking Inferno ran towards the red head in attack. Bigby pounced at the monster, tackling it near the chest. However, the monster's body quickly turned to just flames, wrapping around Bigby as he rolled on the ground.

Bigby screamed in pain, the scolding fire burning his skin. The fires then flowed smoothly off of him, reforming its body and leaving Bigby with holes and burn marks in his shirt as he laid motionless on the ground.

The creature stalked the teenage girl, making her back up in fear. It was getting ready to strike, and kill the girl.

"Hey Bernie!" A gruff voice growled.

The Walking Inferno, hearing his living name, looked behind him, only to be hit with a large tree trunk in the stomach. Being used as a baseball bat of sorts, the former lumberjack was sent flying away from Wendy.

She looked to see what saved her, only to find something she wasn't expecting.

Bigby was holding the tree trunk, with what looked like relative ease. But that's not the thing that surprised the young Corduroy girl.

Bigby's body hair had gotten thicker, covering most of his face and arms. He had claws on his hands, and fangs protruding out of his mouth. His yellow eyes appeared vibrant, as he looked absolutely feral.

Bigby snarled, as he saw the Walking Inferno get his bearings back. Bigby swung the trunk again, making contact with the unnatural creature again, and knocking it away. With a strained grunt, Bigby lifted the trunk over his head, and threw it at his grounded enemy with a wild cry.

The trunk soared through the air for a few seconds, before landing right on the Walking Inferno, pinning it to the ground.

Bigby bared his sharp teeth, as he looked back at where the teenager was at. He gave a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that she was taking cover behind a rock. Even though she hates him, there's no way he was letting her get hurt.

The tree trunk that was on top of the monster suddenly burnt entirely into ash, earning Bigby's attention. The monster fluidly shifted back to its feet, and gave a roar at Bigby.

Bigby frantically scanned his surroundings, trying to find something he can use against the flame ghost. He barely had time to react when the Walking Inferno shot its arm out, grabbing the half-wolf by the throat.

Bigby gagged from the pressure. The monster's solid grip surprised the fable, as the heat started to scorch and bubble his skin.

Bigby was in panic mode. He didn't know what to do, or what could possibly stop this creature. It was living fire! How the hell do you stop living fire!?

Out of pure instinct, Bigby started clawing at the fiery beast, slashing it with his sharp claws. The monster howled, as Bigby's claws went right through its arm, cutting that part off and dropping Bigby in the process.

The werewolf landed on his knees, gasping for air as the Walking Inferno screeched in pain. Bigby looked at it, realizing that it was having a hard time reattaching the flame hand to the rest of its body.

Bigby looked at the mechanical saw a few feet away, and quickly formed a plan in his head. He got back to his feet, as the monster pulled itself back together.

"Hey, you big ugly freak!" He taunted. "You suck at everything!"

Bigby kicked himself for not thinking of something more clever, but it seemed to do the trick. The monster charged at him, making Bigby roll out of the way at the last possible second, as he ran towards the mechanical saw. He looked back to see the Walking Inferno chasing him.

"You could barely kill a tree! What makes you think you can kill me?" The half-wolf sneered.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" It roared, lunging at Bigby.

Bigby jumped at the last possible second, to get right next to the blade of the machine. Bigby looked at the fire ghost, and dodged away right when the evil creature jumped at him.

The Walking Inferno's head hits the saw, making it stuck on the blade. The creature squeals in rage, as it struggles to get off. Bigby immediately headed towards the saw's controls, and flipped the five multicolored switches on.

The saw came alive, giving a rusty growl as the caught monster roared in agony, the saw effectively shredding it apart. Bits and pieces of flame flew everywhere, making Bigby cover his face in protection.

When he looked back, he saw tiny fires everywhere, hopping around like jumping beans. Bigby growled in rage, knowing that the creature wasn't quite dead yet.

The miniscule flames started to jump further into the woods, trying to escape.

With adrenaline still running through him, and anger flooding his mind, Bigby looked back at the tomboy he was protecting in the first place.

Wendy slowly came out from behind her rock, and quietly observed Bigby. He looked like a wild animal. He was breathing heavily, with burn marks all over him, his clothes covered in burn holes and ash. To her amazement, his injuries appeared to slowly fade away, already healing. His lips curled back to show his teeth, his eyes was flooding with malice. She tried hard not to get a little freaked out.

With a light growl, Bigby turned away from the teen, and jumped into the thick brush of the forest, chasing down what was left of the Walking Inferno.

Wendy blinked a couple of times, not sure what to make of anything that just happened. "Seriously, I have to rethink the rules of reality like, every other day now," she complained.

The screeching of tires interrupted her pity party, as Dipper showed up in the Mystery Cart. He had a worried expression on his face, as he saw his older friend. He stopped the cart next to Wendy, happy to see her.

"Wendy! Are you alright?"

"Don't worry dork, I'm fine," She told him with a smile.

"Where's Bigby?"

Wendy pointed in the direction Bigby went. "He went that way, but-"

"Thanks!" Dipper said, as he sped away after the werewolf.

"But he actually saved my life and is chasing a bunch of killer fire," she said, slightly annoyed. "Yep, that was totally what I was going to say."

Suddenly, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps and even heavier breathing. She looked back to see Mabel riding on Soos' back, while she held a silver dagger.

"Wendy!" Mabel exclaimed, happily.

"Hey dude," Wendy greeted, "what're you doing?"

"It's super crazy!" Mabel started, as she proceed to talk lightning fast. "So Dipper said that Bigby was a werewolf, and we scared Grunkle Stan to get silver, which we made into a dagger, and then you called, and Dipper was like 'Oh, I need to save Wendy!', and he left, and then Soos-"

"Hi," Soos interrupted.

"-found a pack of cigarettes that Bigby had, and I was like, 'he looks like a teenager, how did he get cigerettes?' but look!" She then pulled the carton out of her pocket, and showed it Wendy.

"Huff N Puffs?" Wendy asked.

"Huff N Puffs!" Mabel exclaimed, emphasizing the importance of the name. "Think about it! Huff N Puff? Bigby Wolf? He's the Big Bad Wolf!"

"Like, the one from that children's story?" Wendy questioned.

"Yes! Bigby? Big Bad?"

"It all checks out with me, dude," Soos added.

Wendy thought about it for a second. "Maybe..."

Soos looked around at the cutting yard. "Whoa, what happened here?" The handyman asked, making the little girl on his back look around as well.

"It looks like that time you lost your yo-yo and tore the place apart looking for it," Mabel observed.

Soos hung his head low. "Those were dark times,"

Wendy then remembered the current predicament. "Guys, there's this fire monster that has it out against my family, and Bigby turned into this weird half wolf thing and fought him off. He's actually not a jerk!"

"Really?" Mabel was surprised.

"Yeah! And he shredded it up and chased the rest of it into the forest! And now Dipper's after him! We have to get him before something happens!"

Soos looked at Wendy with a dead serious face. "Get on my back," he told her.

Not needing another invitation, Wendy jumped on behind Mabel. Mabel then kicked Soos in the side. "Giddy up, my loyal steed!"

"Neigh!" Soos whinnied, as he ran straight into the forest.

* * *

The sun had completely disappeared, as the full moon was prominent in the sky. The moonlight was the only thing illuminating the dense woods, as Dipper searched around.

He had ditched the Mystery Cart a while back, after the path became too cluttered with twigs and plant life to move through safely.

He was holding a flashlight, as he carefully made his way through the flora of the area. In his other hand was the wolf's bane. He needed to be careful, Bigby would be in his full form by now, and he would be extremely dangerous. He really hoped Mabel would show up soon with that knife.

Dipper searched with the flashlight, trying to find any sign of the werewolf. He had a light sense of dread, as he was alone in a dark forest with a possibly murderous creature around.

"Where are you?" He asked himself, as he passed by slightly burnt leaves and twigs. He swung his light around, scanning the area. Eventually, his light fell on the form of a man, heavily panting.

Dipper gave a small yell of terror, and jumping and dropping the toxic flowers in his hand when he saw Bigby, completely normal with the exception of the damage to his clothes. He was hunched over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at the young paranormal hunter.

"Seriously kid?" He growled. "You had to show up now?"

Dipper had no idea how to react. It was nighttime, why was Bigby completely normal? Was he wrong about him being a werewolf?

"Well, I uh, was kinda hunting you down, because I thought you were a werewolf."

Bigby went quiet for a second, as he looked at the young boy. He took Wendy's words from earlier into consideration. Maybe he was kind of acting like a jerk to him.

"Listen, Dipper," He said, as he finally was breathing normally. "I'm going to be honest, because you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders. You weren't really wrong."

Dipper looked at him with large, surprised eyes. "Wait, so you are a werewolf?"

"Well, uh, it's a little more complicated than that. Look, I'll answer any questions you got later, but right now we have a situation."

"What kind of situation?" Dipper asked.

"A ghost of a living forest fire."

"What!?"

In that moment, a disorienting roar rang out, making the two struggle to keep their balance as the ground shook. They looked to the source of the scream, to see the Walking Inferno, completely back together, and taller than before. Its bright body clashed against the darkness, as Bigby and Dipper stared with their jaws agape.

"Time to run?" Bigby asked.

"Time to run," Dipper confirmed, as they dashed away from the monstrosity.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" The Walking Inferno screeched, as it transformed into a pillar of flame and chased after them.

Bigby and Dipper were running side by side, trying as hard as possible to outpace a fiery death. Bigby looked back, to see what appeared to be a tidal wave of fire coming up to them.

"Time to speed up, kid!" Bigby exclaimed, as he grabbed Dipper and picked him up over his shoulder, sprinting as fast as possible. Dipper stared at the wave in horror, as a maniacal face appeared in the front, laughing at the prospect of killing them.

Dipper then got an idea. "Bigby! Head to the left!"

"Why?!"

"That's where the lake is!"

Considering what the 12-year old said, Bigby ran full steam ahead to his left. As he ran, he eventually saw a small figure in his way.

It was Mabel, who was apparently searching for her brother. When she noticed the two, she perked up with a smile. "Ah! I found you guys!" Her smile then disappeared when she noticed the giant orange wave of ash and destruction. "What the-?"

She didn't complete her thought, as Bigby picked her up with his free hand, and threw her over his other shoulder.

"Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Dipper!" Mabel exclaimed. The Walking Inferno roared again, making the two yell simultaneously in panic.

The trio eventually got to the shore of the lake, as Bigby let the twins go and land on the ground. All three looked around, to see the dock, and a small shack. "Now what?" Mabel asked.

With another distorted roar, The Walking Inferno transformed back into its regular form, as the three looked in shock.

"We have to figure out a way to get it into the water!" Dipper said.

Bigby looked around, before noticing a small, fallen tree. "I got an idea!" He exclaimed, as he ran over to the tree, and picked it up with impressive strength. He then charged at the monster, roaring with confidence, before he jumped and took a swing.

The much larger Walking Inferno caught the tree with one hand, making Bigby look at the creature with wide eyes. The fable began to chuckle nervously.

The Walking Inferno then slammed Bigby down to the ground using the tree multiple times, making Bigby grunt in pain every time he made contact. The monster then swung the tree wildly over his head, making Bigby yell in terror. He then flew off the tree, flying through the air and crashing through the roof of the shack.

"Bigby!" Dipper exclaimed for the teenager, as he looked back at the fire monster. It had burned the tree to a crisp, laughing evilly at what he was about to do to the twins.

The twins rolled out of the way as the monster extended its arms to attack. They started running around, doing whatever they can to miss the attacks.

The monster could barely care though. He was having too much fun just toying with his victims. He laughed darkly, loving how the children squirmed.

Mabel, after running away from another swipe of the creature's arm, noticed something near the bank of the water. Two, large water guns.

She gasped in recognition, and quickly ran over to them, picking them up. "Dipper!" She called, earning the attention of her brother. She threw one of the guns at him, before he caught it. He looked at the toy and got a smile of hope on his face.

The two then pointed their guns at the Walking Inferno. "Hey fireball!" Mable yelled. "Say hello to my little friend!"

With that declaration, the two fired, shooting streams of water at the creature. It shrieked in pain, recoiling and constantly shifting to keep itself together. The monster started to become furious at their attack, throwing fiery punches at the twins.

The two kids avoided the attacks, running and gunning the beast.

Meanwhile, Bigby was inside the shack of the lake, lying on pieces of roof and other stored objects. "Wow, I'm dizzy," he mumbled, trying to regain his bearings. He then notices a barbeque grill next to him, with the lid on top and wheels on the bottom. He looked on his other side, to see empty balloons.

He got a wolfish grin, as he figured out a better plan.

Outside, the twins kept shooting at the flame ghost, keeping him at bay. Eventually, the Walking Inferno screeched, as extend his arms to grab the two weapons. He got a hold of them, making the twins let go, and watch in horror as the plastic toys melted, being completely unusable.

The monster laughed. "Now it's time to end this," it declared, walking up to the kids.

A water balloon hit it in the back of its head, making it stop dead in its tracks. It turned around, only to get hit in the face with another.

"Hi there!" Bigby taunted, with a box of water balloons next to him. He picked up another one and threw it, laughing as it hit the torso of the monster. "Wow, you couldn't even handle these kids? What kind of vengeful spirit are you?"

"You've been a thorn in my side for too long now..." it stated menacingly. Bigby threw another balloon at him.

"No wonder Corduroy beat you!" Bigby sneered, making the malicious light widened the white slits it had for eyes. It then narrowed them in anger, as it screamed in pure hate. It rose up into the air, transformed into its flying pillar form, and launched itself at Bigby.

Bigby quickly turned around, picked up the grill, took off the lid, and had the monster shoot itself straight inside. He quickly shut the lid on it, keeping a hold of it, trapping the ghost once known as Bernard effectively.

The lid shook violently, as Bigby motioned for the kids to come over to him. After a moment to register the gesture, they ran over, and helped push down on the lid.

"Get it in the water!" Mabel shouted, as all three of them started pushing the grill towards the lake as fast as possible. They pushed the grill over the dock and inside the water, having it enter with a huge splash.

The Walking Inferno shrieked terribly, as it struggled to get out of the water. The water around it was bubbling from the extreme heat, as it desperately tired to escape. It couldn't no matter what it did, as its body eventually evaporated into steam, disappearing forever.

The trio panted slightly, as relief washed over them.

"We...we did it," Dipper said excitedly, as he tried to find his composure. He was just happy Wendy or Stan wasn't here to see him like this. He'd never hear the end of it.

"That was intense," Mabel stated.

"Yeah," Bigby agreed, as he looked at the two kids. "You guys did real good."

The twins looked at the apparent teenager, and stood right next to each other. "So, can you tell me who you really are now?" Dipper asked.

Bigby stared at him for a moment, before sighing. "Fine, I'm a man of my word. But you're probably not going to believe me."

"Are you the Big Bad Wolf?" Mabel asked.

The fable froze. He looked at the perky girl with surprise. "How...how did you...?"

"Soos found these," she stated, as she handed him his smokes. "After I saw that, I kinda pieced it together."

Bigby smacked the carton, and stuck a cigarette in between his teeth. "It was the name, wasn't it?"

"It's a really weird name," she said. Dipper seemed lost.

Bigby grabbed his lighter, and lit his smoke. He missed these so much. He then looked at the twins. "Never smoke," he told them. "It's a dirty habit."

Dipper had no clue what was going on. "So wait, you're..."

"I'm the Big Bad Wolf," he stated. "I'm what you call a fable."

"Wait, the Big Bad Wolf?" Dipper exclaimed. "Like, from the 'Three Little Pigs'?"

"I also was the wolf in Red Riding Hood. Back in my wild days." He took a drag of his smoke.

Dipper had a mix of surprise, confusion, and excitement on his face. "W-w-wait, but how can you...I mean...and the thing and...huh?"

Before Bigby could go on any further, Wendy and Soos appeared from the bushes, looking relived when they saw the three adventurers. "Sup dudes?" Soos asked, happy to see them. He was holding the silver dagger in his hand.

"Oh good, you didn't kill the werewolf," Wendy stated, looking at Dipper.

"Now you like me?" Bigby asked, skeptically.

She smirked. "Well, it's kinda hard to hate a guy when they save your life from a fire guy. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"We threw him in a grill and drowned him in the lake!" Mabel cheerily explained.

"That's so cool!" Soos exclaimed, high fiving the little girl. He then looked at Dipper, who looked like he was about to explode. "Hey, you ok bro?"

Dipper looked at Bigby. "YOU'RE THE BIG BAD WOLF!?" He screamed, still not being able to process or accept this information.

Wendy and Soos looked a bit surprised that Mabel's theory was correct. "Whoa, that's like, really awesome," Soos stated, as he pointed at Bigby with the knife.

Bigby looked hard at the object the handyman was holding. "What's that?" He asked, uncomfortable. Dipper rubbed the back of his head.

"It's a...Silver knife," Dipper admitted. Bigby did not look amused.

"That could really of done some damage on me," Bigby told them, a bit happy that everyone figured everything out before they used the weapon.

Mabel was confused. "But wait, I thought you weren't a werewolf?"

Bigby pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'll explain everything. But we need to get you two home first," he said, pointing at the kids. "It's late, I haven't slept in three days, and I have multiple third-degree burns that I really should take care of."

Mabel pouted. "Fine, but you're coming with us!"

Bigby was perplexed. "Why?"

"Because I need to ask you so many questions!" Mabel exclaimed. "Like how was that dress you wore when you were in the grandma's house? Was it comfy? Did it have polka dots, did it have-?"

Bigby groaned as the young girl rambled, as the group went back to the Mystery Shack. The Big Bag Wolf had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5: Homecoming

"So how did you get here?"

It was late at the Mystery Shack, as the five adventurers talked in the living room. Bigby was sitting in Stan's chair, as the twins were sitting on the carpet in front of him, and Wendy and Soos standing behind them. Bigby, wearing several bandages on him for his injuries, had his face in his hands, getting a little overwhelmed by all the questions they were asking after he tried his explanation.

"Wait, were your parents wolves?" Mabel asked.

"Did someone just create you?" Dipper asked.

"Do you know any other fairy tales?" Mabel quickly called out, as the two twins started bouncing questions off of each other.

"Can you really do that thing with your breath?" Dipper served back.

"What's your favorite color!?" Mabel practically yelled.

Bigby took his face out of his hands, as he looked at the young kids to answer their questions. "I don't know, just one of them were, no one created me, yes, of course, and aqua blue. Any more questions?"

After a moment of thought in the room, Wendy raised her hand.

"Yes?" Bigby tentatively asked.

"Yeah, can you like, explain all of that again?"

Bigby gave a long exasperated groan. "Fine. I come from a place called the Highlands, which is where every storybook character like me lives. We're called Fables. I'm the Sheriff of the area, after Snow White helped me to reform after I tried to eat the Three Little Pigs, and Red Riding Hood. I woke up in the forest here after a gnome bit me, and I have no idea how or why I came here. Got it?"

The room went silent, all giving him blank stares.

"Oh come on!" Bigby groaned. "What don't you get?"

Soos raised his hand real quick, as to get the floor for talking, and then lowered his hand again. "We get ya dude, it's just real...weird, ya know?"

"We just fought a gigantic fire demon," Bigby pointed out, "My story should be pretty tame compared to that."

Dipper scratched his head. "So wait, how old are you exactly?"

Bigby rubbed his chin in thought. "I can't quite remember exactly... a few thousand years."

"A FEW THOUSAND YEARS!?" The rest of the room exclaimed, making Bigby jump back in surprise.

"But you look so young!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Time kinda works differently where I'm from," Bigby responded. "I'm basically 15 in Mundie years, but I've been alive for much longer."

"That's really weird," Mabel stated.

"Yep," Bigby agreed.

"Wait, 'Mundie'?" Dipper inquired.

"Oh, right," Bigby said, realizing they had no idea what he was talking about. "'Mundie stands for 'mundane.' You know, normal. It's kind of a fable slang word."

"Whoa, you call us slang words?" Soos asked, a look of hurt on his face. "I'm offended."

Bigby rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit bad. "It's not really like that," he explained. "It's just that we don't really try to talk to the outside world too much."

Soos pouted slightly, before going back to his normal, smiling demeanor. "Ok, dude."

Bigby blinked, a bit surprised at the sudden change in attitude. Then again, in his interactions with the handyman so far, he should probably try and get use to it.

"Am I a Mundie?" Mabel asked, with a wide smile. Bigby smirked.

"Kid, trust me, you're definitely not a Mundie," Bigby said, making everyone laugh. Bigby chuckled, and smiled to himself. It was nice that he was able to make friends.

At that moment, Stan, in his undershirt and boxers, walked past the living room doorway, drinking a can of Pitt Cola. When he looked in through the threshold, he did a spit take, quickly marching into the room.

"What the heck is this cheapskate doing in MY house!? In My chair!? Wearing MY slippers!?"

Bigby looked down on his feet, which had two pale blue slippers on them. "I thought they were comfy..."

"Nope, I don't want any part of this," Mr. Mystery declared. "I want you out of my house, Bigby."

"I was invited!" He exclaimed.

The Pines twins stood up to defend their new friend. "It's true!" Dipper explained.

"He saved us from a fire monster!" Mabel revealed, as Bigby just stared at the family. The little girl went on. "He's the Big Bad Wolf!"

Grunkle Stan looked confused. "Big Bad Wolf?" He asked, as he looked at the sheriff of the Highlands. "Like the fairy tale?" He smiled, as he decided to make fun of the werewolf. "What, do you hang out with talking pigs and flying monkeys?" He jokingly asked, getting closer to the chair.

"Actually, yes, I do," Bigby answered, dead serious.

The smile on Stan's face went away after looking at the expression on the hairy teen's face. "Why do the freaks always come to my house?" He asked himself. He then looked at the kids behind him, before looking at his watch. "It's late. You kids need to go to bed."

Bigby then rose out of the chair, and straightened his tie. "I should probably get out of here," he stated, as he started making his way towards the door.

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Bigby, where are you staying at?"

Bigby looked down at the 12-year old. "Well, I actually found this cave, and-"

"Oh no!" Mabel interrupted. "Nuh uh! You aren't sleeping in some dark, scary cave! They have bats! And Toby sleeps in them sometimes."

Bigby scoffed. "I'm a wolf. Besides, it isn't like I have a lot of options."

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other, obviously thinking the same thing. They then looked back at their new friend. "Why don't you stay with us?" Dipper asked.

Stan's eyes bulged out of their head. "Whoa whoa whoa!" He exclaimed, as he dropped to his knee and put his thick arms around his niece and nephew's shoulders. "You can't just invite people to stay with us! How about you let the man who is, as far as the government is concerned, paying the bills make that decision?"

"Please Great Uncle Stan?" Mabel asked, hope in her eyes.

"He's actually a pretty nice guy," Dipper added.

"And I want to play with his crazy hair!" Mabel exclaimed.

Stan looked at both of them, their eyes wide. He then looked at Bigby, who looked genuinely surprised and touched at the kids' generosity. He sighed. "Alright, he can stay,"

The kids high fived in celebration. Stan stood up. "But you have to promise that you'll look after him. He's your responsibility now!"

"We will!" Mabel said.

"I can take care of myself, you know..." Bigby tried to tell them.

"We'll feed him everyday!" Dipper told his Grunkle.

"Perfectly capable of getting my own food here," Bigby said.

"And we'll make sure he's always clean!" Mabel exclaimed.

"I know how to take a shower."

"And we'll clean up after him in he makes a mess!" Dipper stated.

"Aaaaaand now my feelings are hurt," The offended wolf declared.

Stan chuckled to himself. "Alright, alright. He can have that room you kids found the other day."

Mabel squealed in delight, as she quickly ran over to Bigby, took his hand, and dragged him to his new room.

"But be careful!" Stan called out to them, before grumbling something about "stupid wolfs".

Mabel stopped dragging poor Bigby once they reached the room. There were comic books strewn throughout the place, as cans of Pitt soda were littered on the floor. Bigby noticed that the only real clean thing was the couch in there.

"This is it!" Mabel stated. "Soos has been using it as his break room, but I don't think he'll mind too much if you take it."

Bigby looked a bit skeptically at the room. "It's nice, but...I definitely need to do some cleaning."

Mabel yawned, as the day finally caught up with her. "Can we do it tomorrow?"

Bigby looked down at the tired girl, and got a small smile on his face. "Sure, kid."

"Thanks Bigby..." Mabel drowsily said, before hugging the Big Bad Wolf's leg. "Goodnight."

Bigby was a bit taken aback by the gesture. He slowly smiled though, and patted her head. "Night, you little weirdy."

With a light giggle, Mabel walked away, leaving Bigby alone inside his dark room. He looked around, nodding to himself. He was slowly getting things together. He seemed to have gotten the trust of the Pines family, which he himself was surprised about. He now has a place to stay, even if it looks like a junk food tornado came through. Everything was going better than expected.

Except that he was in a strange town, still had no idea why he was there, and had no clue how he was going to figure anything out. He sighed in defeat. Something weird was going on, he could feel it.

He held his head, as he found his way out of the room. He needed a smoke.

He made his way through the halls, quietly sneaking past so he doesn't wake anyone up. He opens the door to the outside, as he stares up at the stars still high in the sky.

He leans against the wall of the shack, as he takes out his carton of Huff N Puffs. He smacks the box, sticks the vice in his mouth, and lights it. He puffs out the smoke, making his senses fill with tobacco.

"You know, that stuff can kill ya."

Bigby looked to his right to see Wendy walking up to him.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked. "It's really late."

"Eh, I'm more of a night person," she explained, as she leaned on the wall next to the fable. Bigby raised an eyebrow at her, suspicious.

"Something on your mind?" Bigby asked. Wendy gave a quiet sigh.

"I wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"What do you mean for what? For saving me from that crazy fire guy!"

"Oh," Bigby grunted, before taking another drag of his cigarette. The two fell in silence, as they both just looked up at the beautiful Oregon night.

"So, what's it like being a wolf?" Wendy asked. Bigby looked at her for a moment, before looking away.

"It's nice sometimes," he admitted. "You know, except for the times when it gets hard to control the animal side. I mean, I like being a person, but sometimes I just get the urge to eat a squirrel and run through the woods."

"You sound like my uncle."

The two chuckled together for a few moments, before Wendy stopped.

"But seriously, that's why he's in jail."

Bigby cleared his throat, ignoring the awkward comment. "So, can I ask you something?"

Wendy looked at him, silently giving her permission.

"What're the Pines Family like?"

The tomboy goes quiet, before a smirk gets on her face. "Welcome to the family, dude," she laughs, as she walks away, leaving Bigby alone.

"Well," he says to himself, taking another drag of his smoke, "That's comforting."

-

"This isn't what we wanted. He and the kids were suppose to tear each other apart, not get all buddy-buddy."

 **"RELAX. WOLF WILL GET RID OF THEM. ONE WAY, OR** ** _ANOTHER_**."

"Then you'll let me go, right?"

" **A DEAL IS A DEAL**."

 **A/N: This is the last chapter in this particular story. Here's the thing, I'm still continuing this story, but it'll be divided by story arc. So the next part of this story will be in a new story. Thank you everyone for reading, and I'll see you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6: Work at the Shack

It was another warm summer day in Gravity Falls, while the sun was high in the sky. The sunlight shined brightly below, right onto the disheveled Mystery Shack.

On the inside of the house, Dipper was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal while he read a book. It was the newest edition to his favorite series of mystery novels, and he has been absolutely absorbed into the story.

After a few quiet moments of reading, Grunkle Stan walked into the room, clad in his usual around the house casual wear. He scratched his stomach, as he smack his lips tiredly. "Mornin' kiddo," he greeted.

"Morning Grunkle Stan," Dipper greeted back, as Stan started making himself a cup of coffee. The older man then looked back at his nephew, his head still in a book.

"Jeez kid," Stan started, earning the paranormal investigator's attention. "It's like, seven in the morning. You do know that reading in the summer isn't necessary or encouraged, right?"

Dipper sighed, putting down his copy of 'The Sibling Brothers'. "I know you don't get it, but I like reading for fun."

Grunkle Stan sipped some warm coffee from his slightly dirty mug. "I get it, I just don't understand it. I also don't care enough to try to understand it. You see my dilemma?"

Dipper went back to eating his breakfast, while his Grunkle sat across from him. After about a minute of quietly eating, Mabel came barreling in, wearing a sweater with a smiling turtle on it, and with a slight look of panic on her face.

"So, uh, don't freak out," she told her family, "but..."

A loud roar of terror and anger rang through the house, making all three of the Pines Family cringed at the sound.

"Oh no. Mabel, what did you do?" Dipper accused. Mabel gently tapped the edges of her fingers together.

"That's an interesting question, what I did to Bigby."

"I never said anything about Bigby."

"That's cool. Gotta go!" With that, Mabel quickly left the room.

The sound of stomping could be heard, as the two in the kitchen prepared themselves. However, nothing could of prepared them for what they were about to see.

Bigby, the fable who had been staying at the Mystery Shack for about a week, stormed into the kitchen, wearing his usual clothing of a white dress shirt, black tie, and slacks. However, his hair was done up into several different ponytails, each one topped with a purple bowtie. There seemed to be glitter in his hair, as a look of rage stayed on his face.

"Where is she!?" He seethed, not amused by his new hairdo.

Dipper and Stan looked at the detective for a few moments, processing the sight in front of them. Finally, they both fell over in laughter, not believing their luck that they saw the grizzled man in such a state.

"You look like a poodle!" Grunkle Stan bellowed, as he pointed in hysteria at Bigby.

"A girly poodle!" Dipper added, also pointing at him as he and his Grunkle now were standing next to each other.

"Shut up!" Bigby yelled, not able to stop the laughter.

"Dipper, enjoy mocking someone else while you can, this isn't going to happen often." Stan warned.

"Trust me, I'm just savoring the moment," Dipper agreed, the two still laughing.

Bigby groaned in frustration, as he went over to the kitchen sink, and turned it on. The wolf started covering his mutilated hair with water. He shook his head, throwing off the head ties and glitter, and returning his hair to its former glory.

"Stupid Mabel," he grumbled, "giving me stupid hair with her crappy hair ties."

"Hey!" Stan yelled, calming down. "You know the rules about that kind of language around here."

Bigby sighed. He walked over to the kitchen counter, to see a jar with the words "BIGBY'S SWEAR JAR" etched on. It was overflowing with money.

Bigby dug into his pockets, pulling out a few quarters, which he quickly put in the jar. Stan walked up behind the apparent teenager, as he put a strong, calloused hand on Bigby's shoulder. "Ah, the swear jar. The only thing that takes away the two things I love more than anything else in the world. Money and swearing. What a cruel mistress."

Grunkle Stan patted Bigby's shoulder a couple of times, as he still looked at the jar. Without warning, Stan started shoving Bigby towards someplace.

"Hey!" Bigby protested. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Sending my new employee to work!" Stan answered.

"What!?"

"I'm not running a shelter for weird dogs! Time you earn your keep ya deadbeat."

Bigby then was pushed out of a door, making him find himself in the Mystery Shack gift shop. He stared wide eyed, as he found the place packed with trapped tourists.

"I want you to give these," Stan cleared his throat, "'fine folk' the tour around the place."

Bigby looked back at the old man. "What!?" He exclaimed. "I don't know what I'm doing here!"

Stan sighed. "Fine, I'll get the boy to help ya." He then turned around. "DIPPER! GET OUT HERE AND HELP BIGBY! HE'S TOO STUPID TO FIGURE THIS OUT!"

"Nope, totally didn't hear that," the sheriff deadpanned. Mr. Mystery then disappeared back into the house, replaced in his place by the 12-year old in the blue vest.

"What's going on?" Dipper asked.

"Your uncle just put me in charge of the tours," Bigby lamented, as he stared with large eyes at all the people in the gift shop, who were growing more impatient by the second.

"What!?" Dipper asked, dumbfounded. His Grunkle must have really not wanted to work today, if he's placing the fable in charge of the tourists.

"He does know that I'm not exactly...social, right?"

"Look, it's ok, let's just..." Dipper paused, trying to think. "Just do what Stan did to you when you first showed up."

Bigby scratched his cheek, still reprehensive about giving a tour. Finally, he took a deep sigh, as he put on an act of false bravado and strutted over to the crowd of people.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Mystery Shack!" He announced, puffing his chest up proudly.

He quickly deflated when he earned blank stares from the crowd. He locked eyes with a small child in the front, who was picking his nose. Bigby then looked behind him at the counter, to see Dipper sitting behind it, urging him to go on.

The werewolf then turned back to the vacationing people. "We have oddities from all over the world!" He continued to pitch, fake enthusiasm in his voice as he led the people around the building.

"Like what?" A woman asked.

"Great question!" Bigby stated, stopping next to a table. "We have...er..." Bigby pulled up a sharp rock, not quite sure it was suppose to be. "Dragon teeth!" He thought on his feet.

The tourists didn't look impressed. The little boy pulled the finger out of his nostril for a second. "That's a rock," he said.

Bigby rubbed the back of his neck. "That's...very observant. We'll have to talk to our dragon guy."

The crowd was silent.

"We have a dragon guy," Bigby reiterated.

Dead silence from the crowd.

"Moving on!" Bigby quickly said, leading the group to the next phony merch stand. "Here we have a vase that is said to contain the souls of a thousand screaming Frenchmen, and-"

He was cut off by a tug on his pant leg. He looked down to see the small boy looking up at him.

"Yes?" Bigby asked.

"Are you a hobo?" The boy asked.

Bigby's face fell into a deep frown. "What makes you say that?" He interrogated, with gritted teeth.

"You have garbage in your hair."

Bigby cocked an eyebrow, searching his hair for anything. He frowned when he found a latex rubber band caught in his mane. "Dammit Mabel," he cursed to himself.

"That's not a nice word," the boy told the larger fable, who was currently chewing his lip to keep his anger at a simmer.

Dipper just watched the entire scene from behind the counter, feeling bad for his friend. Dipper placed his face in his hands, as Bigby struggled to continue to try and swindle the customers.

"What's going on?" Dipper heard, making him raise his head to see Mabel, watching the scene.

"Grunkle Stan put Bigby on tour guide duty."

"Seriously?!" Mabel gasped, realizing why that wouldn't be a good idea. "But he's so cranky! Remember when I accidentally left all that chocolate on his bed?"

Dipper briefly shuddered at the memory. "That reminds me, we really need to fix that window."

Bigby, meanwhile, was at the end of his rope. He was going to go for the Hail Mary to try and interest these people.

"I see. You people want excitement? You want to feel power? Fear!? The ripping of the universe itself!? Fine! Feast your eyes on...THE VOLCANO OF DOOOOOOM!"

Bigby showcased the object using his arms, presenting a pretty pathetic looking Paper Mache volcano. It blew a tiny poof of smoke, as the tourists looked at it through half-lidded eyes.

"You suck," The young boy complained.

"YOU SUCK!" Bigby yelled, frustration taking over. "You know what, this ain't my job."

Bigby then stormed away from the crowd, before being intercepted by the twins.

"Dude, where are you going?" Dipper asked, a bit frantic.

Bigby was slightly fuming. "I need some air."

"Grunkle Stan isn't going to like that you just ditched these guys," Mabel told him. "Even if they are boring jerks."

"Yeah? Well right now, I could care less."

"You mean 'couldn't'," Dipper stated.

"What?"

"You couldn't care less. If you could care less, that means you would actually be caring a bit, and-"

Dipper stopped his rambling when he noticed the hard stare Bigby was giving him.

"I'll shut up now," Dipper conceded.

"Smart kid," Bigby complimented, before walking out of the Mystery Shack, leaving everyone behind as he stormed through the outside world. He saw Soos, just arriving for work, as he was going the opposite way of Bigby.

"Hey Bigby!" The handyman greeted, strolling about.

"Jump off a cliff," Bigby told him, as he continued walking without sparing a glance at the friendly man-child.

"Will do, bro!" Soos cheerily said, as he reached the porch without looking back. "What a nice guy," he sincerely said to himself, before he entered the shack to start his day.

-

Bigby was sitting in a booth at Greasy's diner, smoking one of his cheap Huff N Puff cigarettes. The restaurant was only slightly busy, as only a few towns folk were occupying the tables, eating and talking about their lives.

Bigby sighed, staring absent-mindedly in front of him. The owner of the diner, Lazy Susan, eventually came up to his table, filling the empty mug on his table with hot coffee. He squinted her good eye in confusion.

"Aren't you a little young to be smoking?" She asked, suspicious.

"I'm over three thousand years old," Bigby stated bluntly, not once looking at the woman.

Lazy Susan's good eye widened at the words, before she brushed off the comment. "Ok then, enjoy your day darling!" She sweetly told him, wondering about how crazy teenagers' imaginations are nowadays.

Bigby took a sip of coffee, smoke in his hand. Its been a rough morning, and he just wanted to relax.

He took a drag of his cigarette. He liked the Mystery Shack, he really did. He actually liked spending time with the twins, even if Mabel could be a bubbly psycho, and Dipper could be a bit too obsessive with his investigations. But those quirks made them endearing.

Their Grunkle on the other hand...he's still trying to warm up to the guy.

"Hey!"

Bigby looked up at the familiar voice, to see Wendy standing above him, in her usual lumberjack attire. The wolf was a bit surprised to see the laidback teen.

"Hey," Bigby mimicked, giving a small smirk.

"Mind if I sit down?" Wendy asked. Bigby motioned for her to go ahead, which she gladly relented. "Thanks."

Bigby blew some smoke out of his mouth. "What're you doing here?" Bigby asked, friendly.

Wendy shrugged, her usual relaxed smile on her face. "I like coming to this place. The food is some of the best in town."

Bigby quietly nodded in understanding, sipping his mug of warm liquid. Wendy seemed to notice the fable's unusual demeanor.

"Dude, what's with you? You look like someone just told you your favorite show was getting canceled."

Bigby's eyes widened. "Ducktective is getting cancel!?" He worriedly asked.

"What? No, don't worry."

"Ok, good. Mabel just introduced me to the show. Pretty complex for a kid's show."

"Anyway, what's up?"

Bigby groaned, setting down his mug. "Stan is making me work for my rent."

"Uh oh. What did he do?"

"He made me give tours."

Wendy sputtered in laughter. "For real?"

"It was awful. If I never have to give another sales pitch, it'll be too soon."

Wendy snickered. "That's why I only work the cashier. Don't really have to talk much behind the register."

Bigby pinched the bridge of his nose, as he put out his smoke in a nearby ashtray. "I can't work there again. I'd probably kill someone."

"Well, you're going to need to find a job. Stan can be nice, but he'll expect something back for letting you stay with him."

Bigby scoffed at the idea. "I'm the Big Bad Wolf. How many jobs do you think I'm qualified for?"

"Well, you could help my dad chop lumber," Wendy suggested.

Bigby went silent.

"What?" The tomboy asked.

"No offense, but your dad...kinda scares me." Bigby admitted.

Wendy was surprised. "Wait, really?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You're a dangerous werewolf that fought off a giant fire monster, and you're scared of my dad?"

Bigby rolled his eyes, getting slightly annoyed at the question. "Yes. Have you seen your dad? I don't want to get on his bad side, that's all I'm saying."

"Pfft. Fine, whatever. You still need a job."

Bigby grunted in agreement. If there's one thing he could say about the redhead, it was that she was down to Earth. She didn't make exaggerations, and always knew exactly what a person had to do.

Unlike another red head he knew at home, who, to be frank, could be a huge drama queen. How she was Snow White's sister was beyond him.

As Bigby was a thinking, he saw someone walk up to him, out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, to see a larger man in a suit, staring down at the fable in the booth.

The man didn't say anything, leaving Bigby feeling a bit uncomfortable. As he waited for the man to talk, the detective looked the stranger up and down, noticing his impeccable attire, brown hair, and strange scent. Bigby couldn't quite place the smell, but felt like he didn't like it.

"Can I help you?" Bigby growled, as Wendy just gave a blank stare at the man.

"Sir, are you new in town?" The large man asked.

Bigby shrugged, taking a drink of his coffee. He didn't know what this guy wanted, and he didn't want to play into his hands.

The strange man noticed the fable's silence. "Were you the one that was investigating the City Hall wreck?"

Bigby froze in place for a second, remembering the whole incident. He had figured that no one really noticed what he was doing, or at least that no one cared.

"What's it to you?" Bigby asked, taking another sip from his mug. He was glaring at the man now.

"Well, my boss has heard about you, and sent me to find you," The man revealed.

Bigby gently put down his mug. "Really now?" He skeptically asked, getting ready to pounce on the man. Bigby knew that if a stranger knew about him, that it usually wasn't for a good reason.

"My boss would like to offer you a job," The man stated, making Bigby calm down slightly, only out of curiosity.

"Wait, what?" Bigby asked.

"Yeah, I'm confused too," Wendy spoke up.

The stranger reached into his jacket, and pulled out a letter. He then placed it in front of Bigby on the table, making the sheriff stare at it. "You have a great chance to make a lot of money. Don't keep the man waiting," The suited man warned, before walking away.

Bigby and Wendy both shared a look, before Bigby opened the letter. "'Dear Sir'," Bigby read aloud. "'You are hereby welcomed to my private estate. I have heard about you, and feel as though you have the skills I currently require. Please feel free to visit, I will make it worth your while.'"

"Well, that's not suspicious at all," Wendy deadpanned.

Bigby rubbed his chin, putting the piece of paper down. "How could he have known about me? I thought I was actually pretty discreet about the whole thing."

"What are you going to do?" The teen asked.

"Well, I do need the money..."

"Wait, you're actually considering doing this!?" The tomboy exclaimed, surprised.

"Look, you said it yourself, I need a job."

"Yeah, but not one from some weird dude in a suit! Seriously, guy looks like a mobster. Or a lawyer."

Bigby rolled his eyes. "Worst comes to worst, I can bust up whatever quote unquote "evil" things they have going on there."

Bigby then looked at the address on the letter, before getting out of the booth. Wendy raised her eyebrows. "Hey, aren't you going to pay for your coffee?"

Bigby quickly started walking out of the diner. "Dead broke! Comp me!" He called back, as he went right out the door.

Wendy gave an annoyed frown, as she dug out a couple dollars and placed it on his side of the table. "He totally owes me."

-

"Soos! Soos! Soos! Soos!" The crowd of tourists cheered, as they were covered in Mystery Shack merchandise.

After Bigby had walked off, the man child had happily taken over the tours. Soos waved at the crowd of people, as they filed out of the gift shop. "Bye dudes! Come again!"

The twins approached him, completely impressed. "Wow!" Mabel exclaimed. "That was amazing!"

"Yeah!" Dipper agreed. "I can't believe how much money they spent!"

Soos chuckled. "I'm just glad they had fun."

Dipper frowned. "Yeah. Stan isn't going to like what happened."

"What about me not liking something?" A familiar voice asked, making the three turn their heads, to see Stan walk into the room, wearing his suit and fez.

"Hey!" Mabel greeted. "We were just talking about, uh..."

Stan looked around. "Where's Bigby?" He asked.

Mabel started to stutter, trying to make an excuse for her friend. "Well, uh, you see..."

"He's fighting off a badger!" Dipper lied, saving his sister.

Stan didn't look convinced. "A badger?"

"Yes! Uh, Bigby was giving the tour-"

"And doing a fantastic job, might I add," Mabel interjected.

"-And all of a sudden, this badger just came bursting through the door! And Bigby-"

"The brave and kind hearted fellow," Mabel added.

"-Started fighting him off! He tried to chase it off, but went out to make sure it was gone."

"Then Soos took over for him!" Mabel stated, pointing to the handyman.

Stan looked at his niece and nephew, who were giving him wide, fake smiles. He directed his gaze towards Soos, who was giving him a thumbs up, before moving his attention back to the kids.

"He ditched, didn't he?" Stan bluntly asked.

The fake smiles quickly disappeared on the twins' faces, as they lowered their heads. "Yes," Dipper admitted.

Stan groaned. "I gave the guy one job! He's worse than I was back in the seventies! And everyone was bad during the seventies!"

"But Grunkle Stan, it wasn't his fault!" Mabel whined.

"Yeah, Bigby tried his best, but the crowd just didn't care!" Dipper defended.

Stan rubbed his chin. "Did he show the Volcano of Doom?" He asked.

"Yes!" The twins answered at the same time.

"It was a bad group of guys," Soos added.

Stan tapped his chin in thought. "Ok, maybe this is on me," he stated. "I guess I could've prepared him a little. Plus, he is a weird wolf guy. Of course he wouldn't have my natural charisma!"

"So, is he off the hook?" Mabel asked.

"Of course not! I need him to do something around here. I can't just have another body in the house without anything to compensate me."

"But you let Waddles in and you didn't care about that," Mabel complained.

"Pumpkin, that's different. Waddles is your pet, and even then I thought about making him give children rides on his back for 5 bucks a pop."

"But-"

"Look, when Bigby comes back, him and I are going to have a...talk."

Dipper, Mabel, and Soos all gasped in horror, as Stan left the gift shop.

"A talk!?" Soos cried. "That means he's in trouble! Like when Abuelita makes me go to bed without cookies!"

"Dipper, Grunkle Stan's going to kick Bigby out!" Mabel freaked out. "What're we going to do?"

"I don't know!" Dipper was in the same boat. The twins enjoyed having Bigby around. Even though he could be prickly at times, he was a nice person. Dipper also thought it was really cool having the Big Bad Wolf himself living in the room below him, while Mabel enjoyed watching Ducktective with him and playing board games. He could never beat her at Conflict Boat.

"Look," Dipper started. "Maybe Grunkle Stan will calm down a bit before he comes back. I just hope Bigby's busy with something."

-

"Holy crap..."

Bigby stared up, mouth agape, at the large mansion in front of him. He quickly went over the letter again, making sure this was the right address. When he realized that he didn't make a mistake, Bigby looked at the large estate once more, awestruck.

"Well, this is gonna be interesting," he mumbled to himself.

With a deep breath, he walked through the large front gates, making his way into Northwest Manor.


	7. Chapter 7: Researching the Rich

Mabel was in her bedroom, sitting on the floor, working furiously on her next arts and crafts project. Waddles watched as she used large amounts of glue, colors, and glitter to make it as close to the image in her head as possible.

With her back against the open door, she didn't notice her brother walk into the shared room. "Mabel?" Dipper inquired. "What are you doing?"

Mabel looked over her shoulder for a second, before turning back to what she was working on. "Hey bro," Mabel greeted. "How ya doing?"

"Mabel?" Dipper repeated. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you know how Grunkle Stan is going to kick Bigby out if he doesn't start working? I figured that if we can't get the reeeeal Bigby to work around here..."

Mabel then stood up, and turned, showing off her project. A life-sized Bigby replica, made out of hay. It had on his usual attire, with a bad brown wig glued to its head. The face had black eyes, and a frown, both drawn on with a magic marker. There were sharp white teeth under the frown, and a cigarette taped to its mouth.

Dipper furrowed his brow, as Mabel's smile beamed. "Uh, I don't think that's going to work..."

"Oh come on Bro-bro! He looks exactly like the real one!" Mabel defended, slightly shaking the hay mannequin. The head fell off, and rolled slightly on the floor. Waddles then walked towards it, placing his head inside, and walked away.

Dipper sighed. "Mabel, we're not going to be able to do anything about Bigby. We're just going to have to hope for the best."

Mabel's smile disappeared, as a deep frown formed. She then sat down on the floor. "I don't want him to go..."

"I know," Dipper tried to comfort, also sitting down.

"I still haven't had a tea party with him! I know he was looking forward to it."

Dipper kind of doubted that. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he was. Look, whatever happens, happens. There's no reason to dwell on it. Ok?"

Mabel sighed. "Ok..."

Dipper gave a little smile. "Hey, how about we do something today?"

Mabel perked up slightly. "Like what?"

Dipper shrugged. "I don't know. Wanna hunt for those alternate dimension mushrooms I found in the journal?"

Mabel shook her head. "I don't want to do lame mystery stuff."

Dipper hummed in thought. "How about we go to the movies? We could see the new Magic Static movie."

Mabel, again, shook her head. "No, I promised Soos that we'd see that with him." Mabel then got a great idea, as a big smile got on her face. "Wanna go to the mall!?" She exclaimed.

Dipper gave it some thought, before nodding his head. "Sure!"

Mabel jumped to her feet. "Last one there is a jerk face!" She told him, before pushing him over and running out of the room. Laughing, Dipper then ran after her, determined to beat his sister.

* * *

"Whoa..."

Bigby looked around, completely taken aback by his surroundings.

He was inside the Northwest Manor, which was completely covered in all things expensive. Red velvet carpeting with golden trim covered the mahogany wooden floors, while the rest of the spacious room was littered in only the finest of decoration. Expensive paintings hung from the walls, while intricate sculptures sat atop tables. There was a crystal chandelier coming down from the ceiling.

"Excuse me, sir?" A balding butler appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

Bigby jumped, not expecting the man. He quickly cleared his throat. "Uh, hi."

"How may I help you?" The bored butler asked.

"Yeah, I got a letter from your boss? Apparently he wants to see me?"

"Very good, sir." The servant droned. "Follow me."

The butler turned around, and started to walked away. After a moment, the fable followed. Bigby looked around, still trying to process exactly how much money these people had.

It pained him to think, but this place reminded him of Bluebeard. The "reformed" serial killer has just as much, if not more, wealth.

Come to think of it, he never met mundy millionaires before. From what he's heard, they range from snobby idiots to eccentric freaks. Or worst, some weird combination of the two. All he knew was, that if he saw this guy, and he was drinking champagne while wearing water floaties on his arms, he was getting out of there.

He wasn't quite sure why that was the image that popped into his head. He blamed Mabel.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something collide with his leg. He looked down to see a small, blonde girl, rubbing her arm, and looking at the fable wide-eyed.

"I'm sawr...sawr...sawr..." The girl struggled, as Bigby watched her fumble with whatever word she was trying to pronounce.

"Uh, are you ok?" He asked, a bit concerned that he had accidentally hurt the girl. However, the girl quickly stopped talking, and looked over her shoulder, as she saw the butler giving her a glare.

She turned back to the fable, her demeanor completely changing from worry to anger. "Can't you watch where you're going!?" She yelled.

Bigby raised an eyebrow. "What?" He muttered, not able to figure out what was going on.

"What, can't you hear? Or is that stupid hair of yours stuck in your ears?"

The butler walked over to the 12 year old in purple clothes, and bent down to her level. "Are you alright, Miss Pacifica?"

She pointed at Bigby. "I'll be fine when I'm away from this peasant!" Pacifica exclaimed, before making her way out of the manor.

Bigby, with a hand in his pocket, scratched his cheek. "Nice kid..." he muttered sarcastically to himself, as he followed the butler.

After a few minutes of walking through the large estate, the butler showed Bigby into a room. With a lit stone fireplace, stuffed animal heads above it, fancy furniture on the floor, and bookshelves filled with literature against all the walls, the room was just another example of money.

What the sheriff was focusing on however, was the rich, middle aged couple in front of him, dressed to the nines.

"The man you sent for, sir," The butler introduced, dryly.

"Thank you...Jerry? I want to say Jerry," The rich man responded.

"Actually, its-"

"Ah, it doesn't matter," The man interrupted. "You're dismissed."

"Very good, sir," The butler gave a slight bow, before leaving the room.

Bigby stared quietly at the two, not impressed. Reading them, he figured that they were just air-headed, arrogant people. He took out his carton of Huff N Puffs, hitting it and sticking a cigarette in his mouth.

"The mysterious stranger!" The man greeted. "It is a pleasure to welcome you to our fair town."

"Uh huh," Bigby grunted, skeptically.

"Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Preston Northwest, and this is my lovely wife Priscilla."

The trophy wife sighed. "Honey, do I have to talk to this boring commoner?" She whined.

Preston chuckled. "Of course not dear. Why don't you go shoe shopping while we take care of business?"

Priscilla squealed in delight, as she giddily made her way out of the room, slightly pushing Bigby in the process.

Bigby looked with slight distain at the woman, before turning back to the millionaire. Preston had made his way to a chair, prompting Bigby to walk closer. He took the smoke out of his mouth, and lit the tip of it by placing it in the open flame of the fireplace. He then stuck it back between his teeth.

"Sorry about that. The missus doesn't really have a head for business." Preston excused.

"Seems like she has a head for shopping." He bluntly said, not really caring what this guy thinks of him at the moment.

Preston gave a hearty laugh. "Yes, very true. I like that wit of yours Mister..."

"Wolf," Bigby introduced, taking a drag of his smoke. "Bigby Wolf."

"Ooh, such a strong name," The man complimented. "I feel like you'd be perfect."

"Yeah yeah, stop buttering me up and tell me what you want," The impatient wolf told him.

"Straight to business then? Great. You see, I know you're new around here, and that not a lot of people know about you yet."

Bigby nodded, agreeing with the assessment.

"I also know that you were at the scene of the City Hall wreck," Preston continued.

Bigby scrunched his brow. "How?"

"When you're as powerful as I am, you know everything," Preston simply stated, not easing Bigby in the slightest. "Nonetheless, I haven't heard a single thing about what happened since, which leads me to believe one thing."

"Which is?"

"That you handled the manner. Quickly and quietly. I need that right now."

"Oh really?" Bigby scoffed. "What's the problem?"

Preston looked down, saddened. "It's my daughter, Pacifica."

"That little blonde girl?" The wolf questioned. "Yeah, she seems like a problem child. Real rude."

Preston perked up. "She was rude to you?"

Bigby wasn't quite sure what to make of the Northwest man's tone. "Uh, yes?"

"Ah, that's my girl. That's the way she's suppose to act towards you common folk."

"Wait, what?"

"Let me explain," he implored. "Not too long ago, we had an...incident at a party. Since then, Pacifica has been treating these lesser people as," he shivered. "Equals."

"I'm...not following," The fable admitted, feeling confused and a little insulted.

"The Northwest name is one of power and wealth," Preston told him. "This family has been one of respect for years. I am not about to let that name be ruined because my daughter is going through a rebellious phase."

"Oh sure, cause nothing screams "rebel" like treating people nicely."

Preston rolled his eyes. "I know it may be hard for you to understand. You're normal. Common."

Bigby flicked the ashes off his smoke, having the burnt dust land on the carpeting. Preston glared at the mess.

"Uncivilized," he finished.

"Look, I'm getting a little tired hearing you say why you're great. Any chance you can tell me what exactly you want in this century?"

The aristocrat eyed the sheriff up and down. "You know, you're a lot more mature than you look."

"I get that a lot," he lied, taking a drag of his smoke.

"I want you to investigate exactly what my daughter is doing."

Bigby went quiet, taken aback by the request. He studied the man in front of him, not sure what to say. "You want me to spy on your kid?"

"Spy is such a harsh word. I just want to make sure she's upholding the family name. You go out, you observe what she's doing, and then you report back to me."

"I'm going to need a lot of good reasons to do this."

"You'll be paid 500 dollars per job. Plus extra for any other work I might need you to do."

"That's a lot of good reasons," Bigby slightly gasped, shocked at the amount. He scratched his cheek, thinking hard about what to do.

On one hand, this guy was terrible. Absolutely terrible. He was a total terror, and he wants his daughter to become the same way.

On the other hand, he needs money. Badly. If he gets kicked out of the Mystery Shack, he'll have to go back to sleeping in the forest. And gnome bites hurt. Besides, the girl didn't seem like she was that great of a person in the first place, and couldn't really find himself caring about her enough to feel guilty.

"Do we have a deal, Mr. Wolf?" Preston asked.

Bigby looked down in thought for a second, before looking at the millionaire.

"Deal."

* * *

"DIPPER! LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT KOALA!"

The twins looked at a large, stuffed bear, sitting before the glass window of a store in the mall. It was absolutely adorable, and was holding a fake eucalyptus leaf. There was a sign on the window, with the words 'WIN THIS BEAR!' in big, pink bubble letters.

"Challenge definitely accepted!" Mabel exclaimed, as she dragged her brother into the brightly colored toy store. She went right up to the counter, earning the attention of the store clerk.

"Why hello little girl!" The clerk greeted.

"How do I win that bear!?" Mabel interrogated.

"It's real simple!" The clerk explained. "All you gotta do is guess how many jellybeans are in this jar!"

Mabel looked to where the man was pointing, to sure enough see a large jar, filled to the brim with jellybeans.

Mabel hummed loudly in thought. "Is it...400?"

"Higher!"

"A million?"

"Lower!"

"100?"

"Higher!"

Dipper sighed, not really caring about the interaction between his sister and the clerk.  
He looked around the store, trying to find something that interested him.

Meanwhile, outside of the shop, and into the sprawling mall filled with people, Bigby Wolf was sneaking about. He was currently peaking out from behind a water fountain, scanning the area. He had tracked down Pacifica to the mall, and was searching for her.

"If I was a little brat, where would I be?" He asked himself, looking throughout the crowds of people. He inwardly groaned at the sight. He wasn't able to smoke, worried that he would give himself away if he did. Meaning instead of tobacco, he was smelling everyone in the damn building, making his senses go wild.

He looked to one side, to see Mabel and Dipper in a toy store. Mabel was conversing with the clerk, and Dipper was looking at what appeared to be a ghost action figure. Bigby freaked out, quickly sneaking out from behind the fountain past the store. If they saw him, they would blow his cover.

He calmly walked around the large building, still searching. Finally, his eyes landed on a familiar blonde girl in purple clothes. She was walking out of a preteen fashion shop, making the fable roll his eyes.

"Shoulda figured..." he muttered, as he sat down on a nearby bench, a few yards away from his target.

Pacifica was flanked by two girls equally dressed up in stylish clothing. They were gossiping, while Bigby focused his hearing on them.

"OMG, can you believe how great these shoes are? They are like, totally amaze." One of the girls stated.

The other girl nodded in agreement. "I know, right? I can't wait to wear this dress when I go to Europe. Show that 3rd world country some real style."

Bigby groaned from his bench, disgusted by that statement for a number of reasons.

"Pacifica, you're kinda quiet today. What, don't like my new shoes?" The first girl asked.

Pacifica, who seemed to be zoning out, blinked. "What? Oh, I was just...thinking."

The second girl scoffed. "Thinking? Don't you have people for that? I do."

"I mean, yeah, but-" Pacifica tried to explain, but suddenly stopped. Bigby wasn't sure why.

"Pfft, what-ever," The one girl snobbily scoffed. "We're going to go horseback riding. Are you coming?"

Pacifica went quiet for a moment. "Actually, I think I'm going to stay here for a while." She decided.

The two girls rolled their eyes, and started to walk away. Bigby looked away as they walked by, not earning their suspicion. He then stared at their backs.

"Pretty crappy friends...parents must of made her hang out with them." He deduced to himself. He looked back to see Pacifica moving away from him. Bigby stood up from the bench, as he followed the 12 year old heiress from a distance.

As the girl turned a corner, Pacifica gave a surprised gasp, making Bigby freeze in place. He then quickly moved behind a churro cart, while the vender looked at him.

"Want churro?" The vender asked.

"SHHH!" Bigby scolded, as he watched the girl in front of him. She had a smile on her, and appeared to be talking to someone from behind the corner.

"I was just with my, uh, friends," Pacifica told the unknown person, putting a strange emphasis on friends.

"Are you sure you don't want churro?" The vendor near Bigby tried to shill, making Bigby miss whatever the other person was saying.

"No!" Bigby quietly growled at the man.

"No, you aren't sure you want churro, or no, you don't want churro," The vendor tried to clarify.

"I don't want your damn churro!" Bigby cursed, thoroughly annoyed at the man. He directed his attention back to the girl, to see she was gone.

His eyes widened for a second. "Dammit!" He said, as the vender opened his mouth. Without looking at the man, Bigby pointed at him. "If you say anything, I'm going to shove those stupid churros down your stupid mouth."

The man closed his mouth, as Bigby walked away, trying to find the girl. He poked his head from behind the corner, to see a large food court. With tons of eating options, like Burger Overlord and Taco Matt's, people filled up the booths, eating.

Bigby could see Pacifica, who appeared to be talking to the same person as before. However, Bigby couldn't tell who it was, because of the fact that Toby Determined was blocking his view.

"Ugh," Bigby complained to himself, as he tried to slowly walk closer. He moved at a snail's pace, trying not to get any attention on him. He could see Pacifica smiling and laughing, looking genuinely happy. Bigby raised an eyebrow. This was a far cry from the girl that screamed at him back at the manor.

He was just about to see who she was talking to, when a familiar figure blocked his view.

"Hey, Bigby!" Soos greeted, as he walked right in front of the fable from seemingly nowhere,

"Uh, hi Soos," Bigby greeted, as he tried looking past the man child.. Unfortunately, the handyman's portly frame was working against him.

"What're you doing dude? I didn't think you'd be a mall guy. Then again, this place is pretty sweet. Did you see what they have down at the game store, they have-"

"Soos, that's nice, but I'm in the middle of something right now," Bigby tried to explain, as calmly as possible.

"Oh, seriously? Any way I can help?" Soos asked.

"Just...move!" Bigby growled, pushing him out of the way, as gently as he could. Pacifica was gone from where she was. Bigby moved at an angle, to see that whoever was sitting next to her was also gone.

Bigby power walked over to where the children were, before looking in every direction, searching for any glimpse of the preteen social princess. Nothing.

"God!" Bigby cried, frustrated. "Can't things just work smoothly for once!?" He questioned himself.

Toby Determined turned around, looking at him with smile. "At least it's a nice day," He said.

"You're terrible, Toby!" The detective snapped.

"Awwww..." Toby moaned, sad.

Bigby pulled out a smoke, quickly putting it in his mouth and lighting it. He then walked over to Soos, who had pulled his hat off and was scratching his head.

"You ok, Biggs?" Soos asked, putting his hat on.

Bigby sighed. "I'll be fine, Soos. Thanks."

Bigby pulled out a notepad, and pen from his pocket. He quickly wrote down all of his findings, before putting it away. He then scratched his cheek.

"Hey, Soos?" He asked the handyman. "Any chance you can give me a ride to Northwest Manor?"

"Northwest Manor?" Soos inquired.

"It's a long story," Bigby explained.

Soos shrugged. "If you say so dude. I can give you a ride, but I got a couple things I have to do first."

Bigby took a drag of his smoke. "Alright, fair enough. What do you have to do?"

"Well, let's see," Soos said, before pulling out a list from his pocket. "I need to get some groceries for Abuelita. Also, I need to get a some of those duck hats from the clothing store, and I also have to get-"

Bigby quietly huff his cigarette, as he listened to Soos read off his vast list of objectives.

"Bigby!"

The wolf turned, to see the Pines Twins walking up to him. Mabel had a large smile on her face, as she held a huge koala in one hand, and an oversized jar of jellybeans in the other. Dipper just had a smile on his face.

"Hey guys," he greeted, looking at Mabel with a curious expression. "What's with the, uh..." He gestured towards the stuff she was holding.

"Oh, I guessed how many jellybeans were in this jar, and won the Koala!" She prided.

"Wow, they just gave you that stuff?"

"Actually," Dipper drawled, "they just gave her the bear."

"Stealing candy should be a profession!" Mabel exclaimed. Bigby chuckled.

"Anyway, I got some things I have to do," Bigby told them. "I'll see you guys back at the Shack."

Dipper got an imperative look on his face. "Bigby, you need to figure something out. Stan is pretty mad at you."

"Don't worry Dipper, I have it all under control."

"Really?" Dipper inquired.

Bigby smirked, taking another drag of his Huff N Puff. "Oh, ye have little faith, my friend."

"Well, ye is really worried that we won't have a wolf living with us anymore," Mabel spoke up, before turning to her brother. "Did I use 'ye' right?"

Dipper shook his head. Mabel shrugged, before blowing a raspberry. "It's a stupid word anyway. Well, bye!" She said, as she and Dipper walked away.

Bigby chuckled again, as Soos tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, bro!" He urged. "We need to get the new Straight Blanchin CD before they sell out."

Bigby rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, keep your pants on, I'm coming."

Bigby followed the handyman throughout the mall, as he figured he had a long couple of hours ahead of him.


	8. Chapter 8: Big Bad Rich Wolf

"What took you so long?"

Preston was sitting in his comfy chair, as he conversed with his newest employee in his den.

Bigby was standing in front of the millionaire, wearing a baseball cap that resembled a duck. "Abuelita needed groceries." He explained.

Preston paused. "Riiight. What is that on your head?"

Bigby looked up, at the orange brim of his hat. "It's a duck hat, sir."

Preston, again, went silent. "I'll never understand the lower middle class. So tell me, what has my little angel been doing?"

"I tracked her to the mall," he told him, arms crossed. "She was hanging around some snotty kids at some fashion place."

"That's my girl," Preston proudly stated.

"However, she didn't seem too interested in messing around with them. They'd split apart after a little bit. Then she started talking to someone else. Someone that made her pretty happy."

"Who?" The wealthy man interrogated.

The fable shrugged. "I don't know. I couldn't see the kid. But from the way she was acting, it could be a boy," The fable gave a wolfish grin, teasing the aristocrat.

Preston went wide eyed. "A boy!? Why, my darling Pacifica has never been interested in boys!"

Bigby gave him an unconvinced look. "Oh really?"

Preston scratched his chin. "Maybe this isn't such a disaster. She could be seeing one of the popular boys at school. He'd be easy to convert from riff raft to respectable dignitary."

"Yeah, you could teach him how to use all those spoons," Bigby joked.

"You laugh, but those spoons separate us from the other animals."

"Really? I thought it was indoor plumbing that separates us from the animals,"

"I can't tell if you're serious, or just rude. It's always hard to tell with you people, Wolf."

Bigby rolled his eyes. "By the way, I got that thing you wanted," he announced, as he reached into his pocket to pull out a thick ring of copper wire.

"Ah, very good, Mr. Wolf," Preston praised, taking the copper wiring.

"I don't really know why you would want that crap," the sheriff admitted, "seems kind of useless."

"This is good work, my friendly dog!" Preston went on. "I think it's about time you get paid, handsomely." The millionaire then went into his pocket, and pulled out a few stacks of dollar bills. "300,400,500! That's for the main job, and here's an extra 100 for the wire."

Bigby took the stack of cash, with a smile on his face. Looks like he isn't going to worry about money for a while.

"Come back tomorrow," Preston told the wolf. "We got more work to do."

* * *

"Dipper, how're those sandwiches coming?"

Dipper was at the stove in the kitchen, as night fell upon the Mystery Shack. "They're almost done, Grunkle Stan!" Dipper called back to his guardian, as he made some grilled cheese.

"Come on Dip, hurry up! My stomach feels like it's punching itself in the face!" Mabel complained, as she, Stan, and Soos were sitting at the table, waiting patiently for their dinner.

"Calm down, I got them right here," Dipper told her, as he put down a large plate of grilled cheese sandwiches, to the delight of everyone at the table. They started digging in, eager to eat.

"Mmm, wow kiddo, this is some of the best grilled cheese I've ever eaten!" Stan praised.

"Yeah dude," Soos agreed, taking a bite. "It's like it's made out of pure magic. Or 100% dairy."

Mabel tried to say something, but it was unintelligible as her mouth was filled with gooey cheese.

"It's nothing, guys," Dipper humbly stated, with a proud smile on his face.

The dinner was interrupted when Bigby walked into the room, prompting everyone to freeze. Stan narrowed his eyes at the fable, while everyone else nervously watched, scared about what will happen next.

"Wolfy, we need to have a talk," Stan grimly stated.

"No, we don't," Bigby told him, as he happily placed a large stack of money on the table in front of Stan.

"WHAAA!?" Stan exclaimed, surprised at the sight. He then greedily picked up the stack of bills, flipping through it. "How much is this?"

"500 bucks. I think we're good?"

"We're better than good!" Stan happily stated. "With this much moolah, I can do anything I want! Mabel! Soos! Follow me, we're going to make a pyramid scheme!"

"WOOO!" Soos and Mabel cheered simultaneously, arms in the air as they got out of their seats, and followed Stan out of the room.

With a content sigh, Bigby sat down on one of the chairs, relaxed. He then noticed Dipper's suspicious face.

"What?" The fable asked.

"Where did you get all that money?" The 12 year old asked.

Bigby took one of the grilled cheeses from the plate. "I'm working for some rich guy. Apparently he's worried about his daughter disappointing him or something." The wolf then took a big bite out of the warm sandwich, before getting an impressed look on his face. "Wow this is good. Did you make this?"

Dipper got a small smile. "Why, yes actually, I-Hey! Don't change the subject!" He exclaimed. "Wait, rich guy? You're working for the Northwests!?"

Bigby stared blankly at the kid, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt. "...Maybe..."

Dipper facepalmed. "What are you doing!?" He scolded. "They're literally the worst!"

"I know, I know," Bigby told him. "I can't stand that jerk, Preston. But I figure that I can at least get some cash from them."

"Bigby, they're HORRIBLE!" Dipper reiterated.

"Look, they're paying me pretty damn well, and it's not like I'm best friends with them. I don't care personally about any of them. I'm just spying on their crappy daughter for money."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Pacifica?"

The detective nodded. "Turns out she's not acting like her father wants her to."

"But, isn't that a good thing?" Dipper asked the fable.

Bigby shrugged. "I don't know, kid. I doubt the girl changed that much."

Dipper furrowed his brow. "Why?"

The faux teen sighed, ruefully. "Take it from me Dipper. Changing is hard. You have to work against every single fiber in your body to be a better person. I can't tell you how many times when I was trying to reform, that I just thought about giving up and going back to eating innocent people."

"But people can change." Dipper said, adamantly.

"Yeah. It's just not that likely," Bigby lamented, taking another bite of his dinner. "Which is why I don't really care about spying on Pacifica."

Dipper groaned in frustration. "I can't believe I'm hearing this," he complained.

"Here," Bigby told him, pulling out a couple of dollar bills. "How about you go out and buy yourself something nice?" He said, holding the money out for Dipper.

"You can't bribe me to forget about this!" Dipper defiantly told him.

"Come on, you can get that uh, what's it called, Ghost Arrestors DVD," Bigby tempted.

Dipper stared blankly at Bigby for a moment, before sighing. "Ugh, I'm going to hate myself in the morning," he muttered, taking the money and walking away.

"Have fun!" Bigby called after him, taking another bite of his gooey meal. "Seriously, how can grilled cheese be this good?"

* * *

Pacifica was depressed.

There just wasn't any other way to put it. As she laid on her large bed, and looked around her oversized, hot pink room, she felt miserable.

Others would kill for what she had. Riches, looks, and popularity. But she didn't really want any of that. Not anymore at least. She was grateful for what she had, but also resentful.

She just wanted to be a normal kid. Hang out with people she felt comfortable around, instead of people she constantly had to impress. Be able to actually form real relationships with people.

Ever since the party fiasco, where she had to break the curse on her family and save the Pines Twins from being wood statues, she's slowly realized exactly how much of a jerk she's been. She always believed herself to be better than others. To be more important than anyone else in town.

Dipper showed her otherwise. Money's nice, but self-respect is what really completes a person. And right now, Pacifica's half empty.

A smile tugged at her lips. She actually started to like Mabel and Dipper. They're completely different from anyone else she's ever met.

She frowned, as she recalled the events of the day. She felt bad yelling at that person she crashed into in the manor, but it was a necessary evil. For whatever reason, her parents frowned upon treating people with human kindness, probably because they're still of the belief that they're better than everyone.

Her standing with her parents was frosty at best, and she didn't want to give them anymore reasons to be mad at her. At least she was able to have some fun at the mall. After she left her "friends", of course.

Without realizing it, she slowly drifted to sleep, eager for the next day.

* * *

"Let's see...D batteries and salt? This is a weird list."

The next day, Bigby walked around town, a list in his hands. He had already talked to Preston that morning, and the eccentric rich man had told him to collect a few items for him.

"Weirdo," Bigby muttered, as he had wandered around town for the better part of an hour trying to find a grocery store. "Seriously, this town is like, 3 blocks long. Why is it so hard to find this stuff?"

He scanned the area, before seeing a familiar redhead, face in her phone.

"Wendy!" Bigby called, earning her attention. She gave a relaxed smile as the fable walked up to her.

"Hey dude, how ya doing?"

Bigby shrugged. "I'm ok. Hey, any chance you can tell me where the grocery store is? I've been looking all over for it."

"Really?" Wendy asked, confused.

"Uh, yeah," Bigby chided, a bit playfully.

Wendy smirked. "Then you haven't been doing a very good job."

Bigby cocked an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Wendy pointed behind Bigby. The wolf followed her gaze, to see a grocery store on the street behind him.

Bigby slumped over in aggravation. "Oh, come on!"

Wendy giggled. "Nice work, detective. I thought you were suppose to be good at these kinds of things."

"I am good!" He argued, a light blush on his face from embarrassment.

"Right. Anyway, wanna go to Greasey's for some breakfast before you go shopping? You still owe me for the coffee."

Bigby rolled his eyes with a smile. "Sure. I could use a break," he stated, pulling a cigarette out and lighting it.

Wendy coughed slightly from the smoke. "Seriously dude, why do you do that stuff?"

The two started walking together, as Bigby put the list in his hands back into his front pocket. "Helps take the edge off my senses."

"What?"

"I'm a wolf, remember?" Bigby told her. "Smoking keeps me from smelling everybody all the time. Keeps me from sensory overload."

"Really? So you can smell everybody?"

"Yep. You smell like cinnamon and an oak tree."

"Ha, sweet."

The two eventually reached Wendy's favorite restaurant, as the sleepy diner didn't seem to have too many people in it. Bigby paused though, as he gave a quick glance through the window, before ducking into some nearby bushes, dropping his smoke in the process.

The tomboy was confused at his behavior. "Bigby, what are you-?"

"Get down!" Bigby hissed, pulling a surprised Wendy down to him in the bush. Wendy shook her head, sputtering slightly from some dirt that got into her mouth.

"Dude, what's with you?" Wendy questioned.

Bigby peeked out of the bushes, prompting the teen to do the same. "It's Pacifica Northwest!" He explained.

Sure enough, Pacifica was sitting in a booth at the diner, completely by herself, absolutely baffling everyone around her with her presence.

"Pacifica? What is she doing at a place like Greasey's?" She then gave a look over to the fable. "And why do you care?"

"I'm...kinda getting paid by her dad to see what she's up to."

"What?!"

"I'll explain later," Bigby stated, watching the girl carefully. After a few moments of bored sitting, the heiress was joined by someone else, wearing a grey hoodie, the hood over his head and covering his face.

"That must be the person she's been seeing..." Bigby deduced.

"Pacifica's seeing someone?" Wendy chuckled. "Wow, I bet daddy meanest doesn't like that at all."

"He wasn't thrilled," Bigby confided, a smirk on his face. He studied the scene in front of him. He couldn't hear what the two were talking about, thanks to the windows. Pacifica seemed a bit confused by her apparent date's appearance. Bigby could see the hood move slightly, indicating that he was talking. The blonde's eyes widened slightly, before she nodded.

"What are you talking about..." He wondered aloud, before Pacifica and the boy turned to the window, making direct eye contact with the fable. The kids then quickly got out of their booth, and ran.

"Shit!" Bigby cursed, quickly getting out of the bushes, as the pair ran out of the diner, as fast as they could. "Get back here!" The wolf demanded, chasing after them at a speedy pace. Wendy followed right behind him.

"Man, they're pretty fast!" Wendy said, as the two were still running. Bigby was determined to find out the boy's identity, knowing for a fact how much money Preston would be willing to spend for the information. The kids ran into town, as the sheriff and the redhead were still in pursuit.

"I just want to talk!" Bigby cried, as the two ran past a few confused bystanders. Bigby quickly followed, accidentally crashing into a few of them in the process. The two kids then slowed down with a skid, before making a sharp turn into an alleyway.

Bigby and Wendy followed, to see the two kids were blocked by a wall. The wolf slowly walked up to the two, catching his breath. When the kids turned around, Pacifica let out a small gasp. "You're the guy from the manor!" She said.

"Yeah, and I'm the guy who wants to know who your little boyfriend is!" The wolf growled, as he grabbed the boy.

"A-ha!" Bigby exclaimed, ripping the hood off of the kid, to reveal a familiar face.

Dipper Pines laughed nervously, as Pacifica looked down at her feet, a blush on her face.

Bigby gave a blank look. "You've got to be kidding me."


	9. Chapter 9: Unknown Secrets

Bigby stared quietly at the two kids in front of him, not sure how to react.

Dipper Pines, supernatural mystery solver and investigator, with his dorky demeanor and shaggy appearance, and a family of oddballs. He doesn't exactly have the most impressive social status, and was pretty low on the totem pole of popularity. Still, he was widely known as a good and intelligent kid.

Pacifica Northwest. The most powerful 12 year old on the west coast, with parents able to buy, sell, and then buy you again. She dressed in only the newest fashions, with an air of glitz around her at all times. She has a reputation for being a snooty brat, and is held in high regard to the entire town.

Now they were standing side by side, blushing and not daring to meet the wolf in the eye. Tense air filled the alleyway, as time almost seemed to stop. Wendy stood next to the sheriff, her jaw hanging low. "Oh. My. God," She said in disbelief.

Bigby had his arms crossed. He was shocked, angry, concerned, happy, and puzzled all at the same time. His eyes darted back and forth at the two kids, as he tried to figure out what to say.

Wendy rubbed her neck. "Well, at least you got over that little crush, Dip," she said to the boy, who was still silent.

Bigby pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you just...I mean...what the hell?" Bigby bluntly asked, frustrated.

Dipper sighed. "A little bit ago, there was this party, and Pacifica asked me to get rid of a ghost. We couldn't really stand each other, but...I don't know. We started actually liking each other."

"Not like like!" Pacifica clarified.

"Definitely not. Just friendly like," Dipper agreed.

Bigby sighed. "So, you two just started hanging out?"

Dipper twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah..."

Bigby rubbed his face. "Dipper, do you realize how much trouble this girl is?"

Pacifica looked offended. "Hey!"

"Not because of you," Bigby stated. "Even though I still don't like you. Dipper, do you know what her parents will do if they find out?"

"Wait, you're not going to tell them, are you?!" Dipper panicked.

"No, of course not, I-"

"Wait," Pacifica interrupted. "Have you been spying on me?"

Bigby stared at the girl. "You're smarter than you look."

The heiress rolled her eyes. "Jerk."

"It's nothing personal," Bigby assured. "I just have a weird history with blondes."

"Bigby, you can't tell her parents," Dipper implored the Big Bad Wolf.

"Relax, I'm not going to tell her parents," The fable told him. "But I'm not the only one Preston has looking around for him. Sooner or later, he's going to find out, and it's going to be ugly."

Pacifica got a saddened expression on his face. "He's right," she lamented, earning surprised glances from everyone in the alley. "Daddy will do anything to keep me us from being friends."

"But Pacifica-" Dipper started to protest, but the blonde threw her hand up to stop him from talking.

"I don't want to hear it. You know how he is, I know how he is, and that guy with the weirdly coiffed hair knows how he is."

"Hey!" Bigby complained at the slightly veiled insult.

"Oh shut up, you know it's true," The heiress argued. She then sighed. "This sucks."

"Yeah," Dipper agreed, depressed.

Bigby looked at the two kids for what seemed like an eternity. His face softened slightly, seeing how hurt the two kids seemed to be that they couldn't hang out anymore. Bigby gave a long look at Pacifica, who seemed to be taking it extra hard. She actually seemed to value her time with Dipper.

He then turned to Wendy, who seemed a little heartbroken at the display. She looked at the fable, and frowned deeply. The wolf shared a similar look, before looking back at the young kids.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but forget Preston," Bigby told the kids, who seemed to perk up.

"What?" Dipper asked, surprised, while Pacifica stared wide eyed.

"You two look like you enjoy hanging out with each other. And it seems like the girl is actually...happy, around you. As long as you're ready to face the consequences, I don't see why you two can't be friends."

"So, you won't tell my dad?" The rich child asked.

"Tell him what?" Bigby asked, giving her a knowing smile. She returned the gesture.

Dipper chuckled happily. "Awesome!" He exclaimed. "I was showing Pacifica things that regular people do."

"Dude, that's so cool of you," Wendy complimented. "Hey, if you want we could all go bowling or something."

"Bowling?" Pacifica asked, a bit confused. "You guys can play bowling?"

Dipper furrowed his brow. "Well, yeah."

"I didn't know you guys had servants," she stated.

"Servants?" Wendy asked. "No, Pacifica, you play it yourself."

"Really?" She asked, incredulously. "That's...weird."

Bigby rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's weird. Anyway, I need to finish this errand your dad has me on. Stupid list..."

He excused himself, leaving the alley and the three people behind. When he was far enough away, he sighed.

Why did he do that? Just tell them it was ok to spit in the wind like that? Not only is he risking his own wellbeing, but now he's risking Dipper's.

But the kid seemed so happy. Same with Pacifica. The Big Bad Wolf still didn't think much of her, but decided to give her a chance. Hey, if Dipper liked her, there had to be something redeeming to the girl.

He put a hand through his hair. This was a messed up position he was in. He made his way to the grocery store, thoughts flooding his mind.

* * *

About an hour later, Bigby walked up to Northwest Manor, grocery bag in hand. He stood in front of the large front doors, trying to keep calm. There's no reason Bigby should freak out. He can keep a secret, and there's no way Preston should know about Dipper.

Bigby raised his arm, reading to knock on the door, when he suddenly heard a strange, metallic sound. He lowered his arm, listening closely, to hear the sound once more. He dropped his bag of groceries to the ground, as birds sang in the distance.

Bigby, not quite sure what the sound was, slowly followed the direction it came from. He eventually got to a corner of the house, as a light breeze passed by.

Not sure what to expect, he quickly turned, feeling a crunch under his shoe. He saw a woman, wearing a gardening hat, kneeling on the ground. She had a pair of rusty garden trimmers in her hands, as she snipped away at some shrubbery. The metallic sound Bigby had heard was made every time the tool snapped.

Bigby looked under his foot, to see that he had stepped on a couple of flowers. Violets, if he wasn't mistaking. He looked apologetically at the gardener.

"Sorry about the flowers," he said. "I heard you trimming, and I thought it was something else, so-"

He stopped talking when he realized that she wasn't looking at him. She continued looking at the shrub with a blank stare, as she just kept snipping at the plant.

"Uh, hello? Anyone home?" Bigby inquired, only to get no response. He crouched down slightly, looking at the woman. It was like no one was home...

"Hey!" Bigby raised his voice, as he tapped her shoulder, hoping to snap her out of her trance. Nothing.

Bigby frowned. He flicked her in the face, made loud noises, did basically anything he could to get a reaction, but the woman was unflinching.

He studied the woman, trying to find any reason for the unusual behavior. He looked closer to her gardening hat, to see a red dot on it.

"You got a stain on you?" He asked, not getting a response. For whatever reason, the dot was bugging him, so he decided to try and rub it off with his thumb. However, when he removed his digit, the dot remained.

"Stubborn thing," he commented, as he decided to take the woman's hat off to get rid of it. The woman suddenly whipped her head towards Bigby, a scowl on her face.

"Don't touch it!" She hissed, making Bigby fall back in surprise. She quickly grabbed her hat back, and placed it on top of her head. She then went back to her former demeanor, and continued to trim away.

Bigby briskly got back to his feet, on his guard for the woman. He watched carefully as she used her trimmers, weary that she'd turn them on him. However, she never did.

He brushed himself off, straightening his shirt and tie in the process. "The people this guy hires," he said, as he walked away from the scene.

He made his way back to the front door, picking up the bag of items he had left. He knocked on the door, only for it to creak open.

Raising an eyebrow at the unlocked door, Bigby slowly made his way in. "Hello?" he called, his voice echoing in the halls.

The manor was dim, as all of the fancy and expensive furnishings were covered by a light sheet of darkness. The only light source came from the burning of candles, and from the windows letting in faint rays of sunlight.

"Hello?" Bigby repeated, hoping for a response.

"Hello, Mr. Wolf."

Bigby jumped, as he turned and saw the butler. He sighed in relief. "We really need to put a bell on you," he told the servant. The butler stared blankly, his usual bored face.

"Master Northwest has ordered me to pass a message from him," the butler informed.

"Oh?"

"He said he has business to attend to. If you could wait for him in his den, that would be most appreciated."

"Any idea when he'd be back?" Bigby asked, not wanting to wait around the mansion anymore than he had to.

The butler slowly shook his head, turning around and walking away.

"Figures," Bigby muttered, as he made his way to the den. He was soaked in the orange light emanating from the lit fireplace. He threw the bag of groceries on Preston's chair, not exactly caring about the safety of its contents.

He pulled his carton of Huff N Puffs, smacking it on the back of his hand, and sticking the cigarette in his mouth.

"Freaking millionaire, making me wait," He groaned to himself, lighting his smoke. He took a quick scan of the room. He didn't like being alone in it. It felt...eerie.

"Maybe there's another ghost in here," he chuckled to himself, remembering what Dipper told him. He stopped laughing when he realized that a ghost could be a real possibility.

"Ugh, maybe I should've gone back to the Shack. I'm sure Mabel and Soos would've had something to do."

Bigby made his way out of the den. He was about to leave, when he realized something. Other than the butler, he was completely alone in the house. No one to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

And right now, he really wanted to search the manor.

Bigby kept thinking back to how Preston found out about him. He was never specific, never outwardly saying what it was that made Bigby's presence known.

"Surveillance gear?" He questioned. No, then he wouldn't really have a need for him to spy on Pacifica. Maybe he had a network of people working for him?

That's a scary thought. Preston, with self-importance, ordering an army of thugs to break Bigby's legs. Or worse.

Bigby walked alone throughout the vast halls, curious about what the Northwests could possibly have in all of these rooms. He looked up at the walls, to see various paintings and works of art on the walls. Women on beaches, Cities at night, and abstract colors splattered on a canvas were only some of the pieces of art fixed on the sides of the hall.

Bigby stopped walking, as his eyes landed on an unusual piece of art. He furrowed his brow, staring at it while he took a drag of his cigarette.

It was a tapestry, woven with great detail. On it was what appeared to be a living, yellow triangle, with one eye and a top hat. It's arms were raised above him, as what appeared to be people below him worshipped him.

Bigby narrowed his eyes. The people had looks of fear on their faces. Fire roared in the background. The image made Bigby uneasy. The woven fabric seemed...malicious. In a hypnotizing way.

Like a moth to a flame, Bigby advanced closer to the painting, holding out a hand to touch it. He wasn't exactly sure why, and part of his body screamed at him not to touch it, but he had an urge to feel it. He wanted the fabric between his fingers.

Bigby slowly moved his arm closer to the picture, tentative. He made contact, immediately feeling a surge of energy going through his mind. He recoiled back, grunting in confusion as the sound of demented laughter filled his head, forcing him to close his eyes. He carefully opened them again, to see the tapestry once more.

His eyes widened in shock as the scene seemed to have come to life. Suddenly, his surroundings were changed, the sound of chanting and screaming filling his ears as his nostrils were assaulted with the smells of fire and burning flesh. He looked, to see the triangle, floating in the air, laughing hysterically.

And then, it was over. Bigby had returned back to the manor, falling to the ground, his smoke falling out of his mouth and rolling on the ground. Heavily panting, Bigby fearfully looked up, to see the sinister artwork back to its original condition.

"What...the hell..." Bigby breathed, slowly getting back to his feet.

He had no idea what just happened. Immediately he started trying to figure things out. He wasn't really sleeping that well, still trying to adjust to his new sleeping quarters at the Mystery Shack. He did eat something called "Mabel Cakes", which he was sure had a mixture of several different sweets and prescription medicines she found in Stan's bathroom cabinet.

But that...that was intense. Vivid. Was it real? Was Bigby losing his mind?

He stepped on his dropped cigarette, making sure it was put out. He took one more take of the art, and then quickly abandoned it.

Bigby was having a stressful time lately. That's it. That's all it was. Satisfied, he brushed the incident off, planning some kind of relaxation when he got home.


	10. Chapter 10: Preston Revealed

**A/N: Stronger Language than usual. You've been warned.**

* * *

It was a pretty busy day at the bowling alley, as Dipper, Wendy, and Pacifica were in the middle of a game. Right now, Wendy was winning by a large margin, with Dipper in second place, and Pacifica in dead last.

"Dude, this is really fun," Wendy stated, as she sat with the two younger kids at the waiting bench at their lane.

"Fun for you!" Dipper teased, a smile on his face, as he was eating some nachos. He then turned to Pacifica, and frowned when he saw the dour expression on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The heiress huffed. "This game is stupid," she quietly whined, not looking at Dipper.

The boy gave a playful smile. "You're not just saying that cause you're losing, are you?"

Pacifica blushed slightly, smacking Dipper hard in the arm. "Shut up!"

Wendy laughed. "Pacifica, it's ok. We're just having fun, no need to take everything so seriously."

"But people are laughing at me!" Pacifica exclaimed. Dipper and Wendy looked around, to see that nobody was actually staring at them.

"Uh, no they're not," Dipper stated. Pacifica was about to argue, but she then looked around, to see that they were telling the truth.

"Oh," she uttered, a bit surprised. "I could've sworn..."

"Hey, don't worry," Dipper told her, "it's just a friendly game, and it's the first time you've really played."

"Let the record show that I'm winning," Wendy interrupted.

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he continued, "no one's judging you."

Pacifica seemed a little apprehensive, before getting a playful smile on her face. "I bet I can beat you," she stated.

"Oh, it's on!" Dipper accepted the challenge, taking one last bite of nachos as the two then went back to the pins.

* * *

 _Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock_

Bigby had been waiting in the den for what seemed like hours, the sound of a clock ringing in his ears. He was sitting in Preston's chair, hunched over, illuminated by the fireplace.

 _Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock_

He was impatient and stressed. He just wanted to get his money, and be done with this whole stupid thing. He isn't even sure why he accepted the job in the first place. Is he really that cold that he would be fine with spying on a child just for a deluded man's cash? The Northwests are terrible people. Why Bigby was ok with keeping one from growing as a person is beyond him.

 _Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock_

He was about five seconds away from finding that clock and breaking it in half. He did not want to be in this damn building anymore. He could feel the negative desire that filled this place. Years and years of underhanded tactics and back-alley deals had supported the foundation of the manor, he knew it. He just couldn't find the evidence.

And that tapestry.

No, not going to think about it. It's just his mind playing tricks on him. He just needs some relaxation.

"Sir?"

Bigby looked up, to see the butler, bored as ever, staring at him from the doorway.

"What is it?" Bigby asked, annoyed.

"I have just received a phone call from Master Northwest. He said that he will be arriving shortly."

"Real helpful, thanks," Bigby growled, not appreciating the update. As the butler began to turn away, Bigby caught sight of something.

"Wait," Bigby called, his voice demanding. The butler stopped in place, before turning back to the fable.

"Yes, sir?" He droned. Bigby stood up, his face stoic, and walked up to the butler. Bigby studied the servant's face for a moment, not seeing any emotion.

"You have something on your collar," he remarked.

"Oh?" The butler muttered, uncaring. Bigby, gently, grabbed the corner of the man's collar, and flipped it up, revealing a mark.

A red dot, right on the fabric. A red dot that looked exactly like the one on the gardener's hat.

"What is...?" Bigby muttered to himself, as the butler raised an eyebrow. The wolf locked eyes with the servant, before ripping the fabric, and the dot, off.

The butler's expression suddenly filled with emotion. Eyes wide, almost feral, the butler moved quickly at Bigby, reaching for the torn piece of cloth. The two struggled, pushing them farther into the room.

Bigby kept the butler at arm's length, as the man frantically tried swiping at him. "Give it back!" He howled. "Give it back!"

"What is this!?" Bigby interrogated. "What exactly is this dot!?"

"You don't understand! I-" The butler suddenly took a sharp intake of breath, falling off of Bigby. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he collapsed to the floor.

Stunned, Bigby stared at the man, unmoving on the floor. The sheriff then looked at the fabric in his hand, studying the dot.

"Hello, Wolf," a distinguished voice entered the room. Bigby looked up, to see his employer in the room.

"Preston, what is this!?" Bigby demanded, holding out the piece of cloth to show to the millionaire.

"What, that?" Preston asked, pointing at that dot. "It's just a little symbol I have all of my employees wear."

The sheriff wasn't convinced. "Just a symbol!?" He repeated, incredulous. "Look at what it did to your butler!" He pointed at the unconscious man on the ground.

"Oh, Jerry has always been a bit of a drama queen, now how about we just leave this bit of business behind us, and see those groceries you got."

Bigby had forgotten about the bag of groceries he had gotten. Bigby had a hard stare fixed on Preston. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Nevertheless, Bigby motioned towards the bag near the chair, inviting the Northwest to grab it.

Preston raised an eyebrow. "You don't really expect me to get it myself, do you dog?"

Bigby growled. "Why exactly did you want that stuff anyway?"

Preston shrugged. "It's just something I have a need for."

"You just need salt and D batteries? Or copper wire?" Bigby questioned. "You aren't eccentric, you're up to something!"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean."

Bigby looked down at the man on the floor. He then shifted his gaze back to the red dot. He remembered the gardener and the red dot on her hat. How she acted the same way the butler did when they were on, and how they reacted similarly when taken off. They were dull, almost lifeless.

Almost hypnotized.

Bigby's eyes widened, as he figured it out. "You've been brainwashing your employees!" Bigby stated, disgust on his face.

Preston gave a dry smile. "You really are a brilliant detective. No one else in this two-bit town would have ever figured it out."

"Why?" Bigby commanded, wanting an explanation.

"After the party, some of the employees started acting up," Preston started. "Some quit, others were giving backtalk. Overall, it was just a giant mess. It seemed that they just couldn't respect those superior to them. So, we planted those mind control dots on their uniforms."

"You're controlling them so they like you?" Bigby could hardly believe it. He had never heard of something so crazy.

"We can't afford to lose our image," Preston justified, echoing the conversation the two had the other day. Preston walked closer to Bigby, stepping over the butler in the process. "Is that such a crime?"

"You're bending people's wills!" Bigby yelled. "Turning them into...into slaves!"

"We're still treating them the same, just now they can't make any of those snide comments they were getting so fond of."

Bigby remained silent, as he stared at the man with utter contempt. He was delusional.

"You know, it's a shame. I would've made one for you. Kept you under my permanent employ. You're a good worker, and you'd be a very obedient dog, Mr. Wolf."

"Call me dog one more time, and I'll rip you apart," Bigby warned.

Preston frowned a the outburst. "Such a bad temper. That would've been the first thing to go." He sighed. "I wonder what to do with the rest of these ingredients. They were going to be made into the mind control dot for you, but now...hmm." He rubbed his chin. "Pacifica is still acting up..." he thought aloud.

Bigby's eyes widened, and his lips curled back into a snarl. He punched Preston hard, knocking him back and making him trip over the butler.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you!?" Bigby exclaimed, disgusted as Preston tried to crawl away from the wolf.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Preston cried, shocked at Bigby's actions. Bigby quickly walked up to him, and forcefully grabbed the millionaire by the collar.

"She's a _fucking kid_!" Bigby all but roared, shaking the man slightly. "She's _your kid_!" Bigby punched Preston again, making the man whimper in pain, a welt growing on his face. Bigby dragged the man to his feet, before throwing another haymaker, connecting and breaking Preston's nose in the process, sending the man stumbling towards one of the bookshelves.

Blood started dripping down the aristocrat's face, bruises littering his cheeks. Bigby charged into the man, pinning him against the bookshelf, knocking some of the literature off and having it land on the floor. Bigby had his arm right on Preston's throat, making him gasp for air.

"I don't care who you are, or who you think you are! She's a little girl!" He growled, showing his teeth to the terrified man. Bigby was doing everything he could to not let the wolf out, and everything he could to not outright murder Preston.

"Please..." the rich man begged.

"You want to change your daughter into some unfeeling monster!" The fable scolded. "When she's trying to make herself better! Better than the rest of your shitty family!"

Bigby violently shoved Preston back into the shelf, knocking over more books, and making Preston fall to the floor. Bigby fumed, trying to calm himself ever so slightly, as he looked down at the roughed up millionaire.

Bigby's rage had disappeared from his face, even though it was still prominent on the inside. "Listen to me carefully," he growled. "I have eyes and ears on you. If you do anything to Pacifica, I will find out. And I will come here, and make what I just did look like a gentle message. Got me?"

Preston stared up at the fable in complete fear, nodding his head. Bigby remained quiet, as he turned around and started to walk away. Before he left the den, he took out a cigarette, threw it in his mouth, and lit it.

"Bigby..."

The wolf slowly turned in distain to look at Preston, who was leaning against the shelf.

"You're nothing but a brute. A peasant. You'll never be anything more than that," he spat out, angry.

Bigby turned away. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he stated, as he left the den.

He walked down the main corridor, as he went out the front door. As he slammed the door behind him, he didn't notice the tapestry from earlier, looming over the hall.

 **"SEE YOU SOON, WOLF."**

* * *

"I can't believe you beat me..."

Dipper pouted as he, Pacifica, and Wendy walked towards the Mystery Shack. Pacifica had a satisfied look on her face, and Wendy just absentmindedly smirked. The sun was slowly setting in the distance.

"Told you I'd beat you," Pacifica bragged.

"You only won by 3 pins!" Dipper argued.

"A win is a win. And I always win," she said, pleased with herself. She was really enjoying hanging out with Dipper, and learning how normal people live.

But that doesn't mean she wasn't going to tease Dipper to Kingdom Come.

"Ugh, why do I bother?" Dipper sighed. Wendy, only hearing bits and pieces of the conversation, laughed slightly.

"I still beat both of you," Wendy reminded, with a smile.

"Only by...123..." Dipper said, realizing that it's pointless to argue.

"That's right," Wendy confirmed. The three eventually reached the Mystery Shack, stopping in front of it. They then all faced each other.

"Well, today was fun," Wendy stated, earning nods of agreement from the other kids. "But it's getting late, and we should probably all go home for the night."

Pacifica frowned. "Really? But..." She trailed off, sad.

Dipper was concerned, confused about why Pacifica seemed upset. Then it hit him. She didn't want to go back home.

"Hey, we can hang out tomorrow," Dipper told her, making her perk up slightly.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Dipper said, with a smile. Pacifica gave a small smile, before her lips curled into a devious position.

"Always wanting to be with the cool kids," she teased. "Loser."

Knowing she didn't mean it, the boy laughed. "See ya tomorrow."

"Bye," Pacifica stated, as she and Wendy walked away. Dipper waved, before turning back to the shack.

He saw a wide eyed Mabel staring at him, mouth agape.

"Uh-oh," Dipper muttered, as Mabel squealed loudly, ever the fangirl.

"Oh my gosh, she likes you! You like her! _Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh_!" Mabel cheered, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Mabel, calm down, we're only friends."

"That's how it starts!" Mabel exclaimed, as Dipper got onto the porch with his sister. "When did this start? Why did you keep it a secret? Come on Dipper, tell me!"

"Alright, calm down," Dipper implored. "I'll tell you everything. Just don't freak out like that anymore."

The two opened the screen door, slowly entering their summer home.

"Dipper and Pacifica, sitting in a tree-"

"Mabel!"

* * *

It was a clear night, as Bigby slowly trudged his way back to the Mystery Shack. He wasn't sure how late it was, or how long he was gone. After the incident at Northwest Manor, he needed to calm down.

Which he did. Somehow.

A Huff N Puff in his mouth, he shifted the lit cigarette back and forth in his teeth. He hated today. He really did.

He finally made his way to the Mystery Shack, and found himself on the porch. He sighed, dropping his smoke and crushing it under his foot. He then carefully opened the door so he didn't wake up the rest of the house. Now in the kitchen, he slowly closed the door behind him, the door creaking in the process.

The lights in the kitchen were on, as Grunkle Stan, in his relaxed attire, was on a chair at the table, facing the fable. "Hey Wolfy," he greeted dryly.

"Stan?" Bigby asked, puzzled. "What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting for you," he answered, gently. He motioned Bigby to sit across from him. After a moment's hesitation, Bigby complied, sitting on the chair, facing the direction that Stan was.

The Grunkle gave him a hard look, making Bigby feel uneasy. "What's wrong?" Bigby inquired.

"You got blood on your shirt," Stan bluntly stated. Bigby looked down, to see his dress shirt stained with splatters of crimson.

"Oh," was all Bigby could say, as he found some kind of drink on the table, and an empty glass. Bigby poured himself some, earning no protest from the old man.

"Is it yours?" Stan asked.

"Is what mine?"

"The blood."

Bigby paused. "No," he told him, taking a sip of the drink. Apple cider, he discovered.

Mr. Mystery sighed. "Is it anyone I should worry about?"

"No."

"Is it anyone you should worry about?"

"Probably," he admitted, taking another sip. The two fell in silence for a moment, simmering in there thoughts. Finally, Bigby spoke. "I'm sorry."

Stan looked at the wolf. "For what?"

"For ditching the shack when you needed me to work," Bigby stated. "And for getting fired from my other job. I'm not going to be able to pay you anymore."

Stan looked down for a moment, before looking away. "That's alright. You don't have to work."

Bigby was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. The only reason I wanted you to work was to see if you were actually grateful. That you weren't just taking us for granted, ya know?"

Bigby slowly nodded, considering his words. He took another drink of his beverage. "How expired is this Apple Cider?"

"I still had brown hair when I bought it,"

"Jeez," Bigby uttered, making the two chuckle slightly.

Stan exhaled lightly. "You know Bigby, I actually like you," he confessed. "You saved Dipper and Mabel from that fire thing, you tried paying me for your room, and you don't shed hair everywhere. You're not bad."

Bigby was slightly stunned. "Thanks, sir."

"'Sir', ha!" Stan exclaimed. "You sound like a cop."

"Well, technically-"

"Don't make me hate you, Wolfy," Stan interrupted, making Bigby smirk. Stan looked at the fable, smirking as well, before looking away. However, his smile fell into a frown. "Listen Wolfy," he started.

Bigby looked at him, noticing the seriousness in his tone.

"You seem ok, but we need to get something straight. The kids, they're my family. In fact, they're probably the only family I have that doesn't hate me. My father hates me, my mother hates me, my-" he stopped for a second, before continuing. "My sister hates me. Dipper and Mabel though, they don't hate me. They love me. That means everything to me."

Bigby looked at the man, surprised at how sincere he was being.

"I want to protect them. Keep them safe. And then here you come. The Big Bad Wolf. A fairytale come to life. I ain't even going to question it, because after living in this town for so many years, you start to figure out that this kinda stuff is real. I like you Bigby. But in those stories, you were a real jerk. A dangerous, dangerous jerk."

Bigby couldn't help but feel guilty. He tried so hard not to let his primal instincts out, but days like this show him just how much harder he had to work.

"I just want my niece and nephew to be safe. And then you come in," he looked at the wolf. "With blood on your shirt, and I'm not sure what to think. So I need you to promise me something."

"Yes?" Bigby asked, listening carefully.

"Protect those kids from any trouble that might follow you. Stay on the straight and narrow, and make sure those kids are safe. I know I couldn't stop ya if you went berserk, so I need you to promise me that. Can you do that? Can you promise me?"

Bigby looked at the man, locking his hard gaze with one of his own. He could see the fear in Stan's eyes, just at the idea of his family getting hurt. It wasn't fear of Bigby, just what he could do, and what it could mean to the man's family. Bigby respected that more than anything.

"I'll do whatever I can to protect them," Bigby promised, easing the old man. With some cracking bones, he stood up, and started to walk away.

"Try to get some sleep, kid," he told him, "and don't drink all the cider. I'm probably going to need that someday."

Bigby let out a dry laugh, as Stan left him alone. He took another stiff drink of cider, as he let the events of the day fly off him.

He was going to protect this family. He owes them that much.

* * *

Preston leaned over his fireplace, focused on the crackling flames. Dried blood was on his face, and the bruises from Bigby were still prominent on his face. The rich man was scolding at the memory of the beating.

"Sir?" His 'loyal' butler asked, in the doorway, with the red dot back on his neck. "Is there anything I can do?" He dully asked.

"Did you put away the disinfectant?" Preston questioned, wanting to know the butler had placed the first aid supplies back where they belonged.

"Yes."

"Then I'm fine."

The butler left from the doorway. Preston then heard the front door open, and some footsteps walking past the room he was in.

"Daddy, I'm home!" Pacifica called, not bothering to stop in the room, or to actually look at her father.

"Welcome back, sweety." He dryly greeted, still staring at the fire. He thought about Bigby's words, and his threat. The millionaire has been threatened plenty of times. But this was the first time he was convinced that the person could follow through.

His grip on the stone lining of the fireplace tightened. "I won't let her ruin this family," he said to himself. "And I won't let him stop me."

He then turned from the fireplace, and walked towards a bookshelf. He grabbed a red book, and pulled it, having the entire bookshelf rise from the ground, leading to a flight of stairs that was directed downward.

Preston walked down the cracked, stone steps, as walls became more and more littered with dust and cobwebs. Finally, he reached a dark room, only lighted by candlelight. He flipped a switch on the room, making the room glow grimly with the fluorescent lights of electricity flowing from rusty metal conductors, and various other science projects. He had jars with human hands, feet, hair, and other assorted body parts scattered throughout various wooden tables and stands.

He walked over to a large computer, that looked absolutely ancient, yet impressive. He quickly started typing, working on his next plan.

"Do you think you can scare me, Dog?" The aristocrat muttered to himself, obsessed. "I'll get you. I will find all your weaknesses, and watch as you suffer. Then when you're gone, my daughter will be back to her obedient self, and the Northwest name will remain strong."

He started laughing manically, big plans going through his head.

 _ **/THE END/**_


	11. Chapter 11: Lazy Summer's Day

"Bigby..."

"Snow?"

Bigby looked around him, to see various, almost mythical mountain ranges. The sky was bright pink, with light blue clouds. The werewolf walked around, searching for the sound of the voice.

"Bigby..."

He heard the familiar, sweet voice of his best friend. The person who gave him his job as sheriff. The person who gave him a chance.

He could smell her scent. She was close to him. But he couldn't see her.

"Bigby...!"

Her voice sounded more panicked, making Bigby worried. He looked around, trying to any sign of the princess in the magical landscape.

"Snow, where are you?" He asked, his ears perked, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"Bigby!" The voice of Snow shrieked, as the pink landscape suddenly twisted to red, the mountain ranges turning into eruptive volcanos. The fable whipped around, taking in the changes with fear.

Suddenly, a devilish laugh echoed through his head. He looked around, trying to find the source, only to see carnage to the once beautiful land he was in. The evil laugh was one he had heard before.

Bigby started screaming, not being able to take it anymore.

He woke up in shock, a loud gasp escaping from him. He breathed heavily, as he looked around, seeing that he was still in his bed in the guest room.

With a sigh, he placed his hand on his forehead, dripping in sweat. What was that dream? Was it a warning? A premonition?

Bigby got up, and quickly snuck out of the shack. Something is happening back at his home. He needs to figure out a way to communicate with them.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel were in the living room of the Mystery Shack, bored out of their minds. They were mindlessly watching television, both upside down in Grunkle Stan's chair.

"We'll be right back to 'You, Me, and 15 Dwarfs' after these messages," the TV announced.

"Why are we watching this?" Dipper asked.

"Because you didn't want to watch 'FluffyBottoms Magical Unicorn Romp'," Mabel answered.

"Did you still want to watch it?"

"It was a rerun."

The two sighed at the same time, both bored. After a couple minutes of dully looking at the screen, Stan walked into the room, frowning at the sight of his family in his chair.

"Kids?" Stan questioned, "Why do you look like those bats that live in the gift shop?"

"There's nothing good on," Mabel answered, still staring at the television.

Stan furrowed his brow. "Well, why aren't you helping in the shop?"

Dipper frowned. "Wendy's in a bad mood," he stated.

"About what?" Stan asked.

"Robbie was bragging about his relationship with Tambry. She took it pretty hard, and kicked us out."

"I would've made Waddles do his rap dance to cheer her up," Mabel commented.

Stan groaned. "Teenagers. Nature's idiots...fine, you can't work today, but I don't want you around the house all day."

The twins complained with various groans and moans.

"Nope, that ain't gonna work," Stan told them. "It's a beautiful day out, and I won't let you become slaves to television. The only time anyone should be a slave is when they're in Colombia, and forget their passport, and then they have to pay off a debt they racked up with some local international criminals, and they have to do things that they aren't proud of and...and..."

Stan cut himself off, as a single tear went down his face.

"Grunkle Stan?" Dipper asked, "Are you crying?"

"I'm not crying, you're crying!" Stan defended. "Get out of here and find something to do!"

The two sighed, as they flipped back to their feet. They stumbled around a little, dizzy.

"Whoa, blood rushed to my head, ooooh," Dipper said.

"I feel like I'm stuck in the washing machine..." Mabel added, "again..."

After a few seconds, the twins stabilized themselves, and left the living room, slightly slumped over.

"Man, how are we going to find something to do?" Dipper complained. Mabel shrugged.

"Maybe we can go to the arts and crafts store?" She suggested.

"I'm pretty sure you're still banned from there."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I still don't know why they did it."

"You threw glitter in the owner's face."

"So?"

"He was 74, and he had to go to the hospital!"

Mabel stuck her tongue out, not really being able to think of a response. The two eventually made their way outside, blinded by the light of the sun.

"Ah! Daylight! It burns!" Mabel cried, pulling her red sweater with pugs on it over her head.

Dipper rubbed his eyes, to see Bigby standing there, smoking a cigarette, lost in thought. He had two suitcases next to him, seemingly filled up.

"Bigby?" The young boy asked, earning Bigby's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Dip," Bigby greeted. "I'm waiting for Soos."

Mabel's face popped out of her sweater. "What's with the luggage?"

Bigby rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right. Lately I've been thinking of home, and I've been, uh, worried."

"Worried about what?" Mabel wanted to know.

"I...I don't know. It's just that I'm the sheriff, you know? Kinda hard to not think about it. So, I researched into this spell that I could use to check up on things," he stated, as he showed the kids an ancient looking brown book. "Turns out, the ingredients are scattered throughout Oregon."

"So, you're going on a road trip?" Dipper asked.

"Yep," Bigby confirmed, taking a drag of his smoke.

"Wait, why are you bringing Soos?" Mabel asked. "I mean, I figured you would want to do this yourself."

"I would, but, uh..."

"What?" Mabel asked.

"I, uh...don't... _mmhmmdrivemmhmm"_ Bigby quietly mumbled.

"What?" Dipper asked, leaning in a bit closer.

"I...don't know how to drive..." the fable admitted.

The two twins shared a quiet look at each other, before laughing loudly. Bigby rolled his eyes, annoyed. "It's not a big deal..."

Mabel was laughing hysterically. "Why don't you know how to drive?" She asked, slightly calming down.

"I'm a wolf, and I live close to New York. Whenever I needed a car, I called a cab. Simple."

"Did you ever try and get a license?" Dipper inquired.

"Once...I uh, crashed the car into a pancake house. So I need Soos to drive me around. He wanted a vacation apparently, and wanted to hang out with me. So win-win...for him..." Bigby grumbled, still smoking.

As if on cue, a red pickup truck pulls up to the shack, parking right in front of the three. Soos jumped out of the driver's seat, with his usual smile on his face.

"Dude, I'm so excited!" He exclaimed, pulling Bigby into a huge bear hug, making Bigby squirm painfully. "This is gonna be so fun!"

"Soos...crushing me..." He was able to squeak out, making Soos drop him.

"Heh, sorry Biggs. I've been told I have the hug of a gorilla."

Bigby took a deep breath, as he crushed his cigarette under his foot. "The brain of one too..." Bigby muttered, already frustrated at his predicament.

Soos picked up Bigby's suitcases, and threw them in the bed of his truck. "I got like, 15 bags of beef jerky, 10 bags of chips, 9 liters of soda, and at least 7 bags of candy."

"So, only the healthy things, right?" Bigby joked. "I don't suppose you got an apple in there too, huh?"

Soos thought for a moment, before searching in the front of his truck. After a moment, he pulled out a fresh, crisp, red apple, and threw it to Bigby.

The fable caught it, staring with a cocked eyebrow at the fruit. He then looked at Soos.

Soos looked back at him.

Bigby looked back at him.

Soos looked back at him.

"You're alright," Bigby stated, before taking a bite of the apple. The two then made their way inside the truck, before pulling away.

"Bye Bigby, bye Soos!" Mabel called after them, as she and her brother waved them goodbye.

The two in the truck waved back, before driving out of the Twins' sight.

Dipper's hand then fell back to his side. "Well, that was a good five minutes. Now what?"

"Wanna draw a mustache on Waddles and see how many people think he's a person?" Mabel suggested.

Dipper paused. "No."

Mabel shrugged. "Then how about we go into town and see if there's something to do?"

Dipper thought for a second, before nodding. The two started making their way into town, hopeful to find something to do.

* * *

"Is it cause she's blonde?"

"No."

Dipper and Mabel have been walking around town for a while, not really finding a lot of people to talk to, or a lot of things to do. Mabel had been bugging her brother about various subjects, the latest of which is why he's hanging around Pacifica Northwest.

"Is it cause she's rich."

"Definitely not."

"Does she smell nice?"

"No! Well, yes, but-"

"Aha! Got you!"

Dipper groaned, realizing how pointless it was to argue with Mabel. The two looked around the town, noticing how quiet everything was.

"Where is everyone?" Dipper asked aloud, making Mabel look around as well.

"Yeah, it is kind of quiet. You know, quieter than usual."

"Maybe there's something going on?" Dipper thought, as Mabel suddenly squealed, making him turn around.

She was staring at a poster on the wall, an excited look on her face. "Bro, look!"

Dipper walked up to her, before reading the contents on the poster. His face fell. "Oh no..." he muttered.

It was a poster for a circus, with the painted up faces of clowns prominent on the paper.

"Dipper! It's in town all this week! Oh, we gotta go!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Mabel, no..."

"Come on, Dipping Sauce!" Mabel pleaded. "You're not still scared of clowns, are you?"

Dipper's heart sank. "I'm not scared of clowns. They just...make me uncomfortable."

"Come on, pleeeeeeease!" Mabel whined. "There's nothing else to dooooooo."

Dipper gave a displeased sigh. "Fine, we'll go. But only because you're annoying the heck out of me."

"Is there any other way?" Mabel teased, as she happily skipped towards where the circus was suppose to take place.

Dipper tried to swallow the slight fear he was feeling, as he followed his sister. He had a bad feeling about this.


	12. Chapter 12: Cirque de la Folie

"Alright, I think we're close to one of the ingredients."

Bigby had his nose in the ancient looking spell book, reading the entry for the magic he wanted. He was figuring out where the location of the ingredients are, while he sat in the passenger side of Soos' truck. The two had been driving for an hour, as they passed through the Oregon landscape.

"Now, it says here that we-"

Bigby was cut off by the sudden sound of music blaring in the truck. With a pained cry, Bigby covered his ears, absolutely hating the music. Soos was in the driver's seat, dancing along to the loud techno music.

"Soos!" The fable yelled, but was droned out by the music.

"Doot, doot, doot, doot," Soos sang, going along with the beats of the techno music, completely unaware of the wolf's suffering.

"Dammit Soos!" Bigby screamed, before he pressed the 'off' button on the radio, turning off the music. Soos looked over at the fable.

"Oh, sorry dude, I didn't know I was bugging you," the handyman apologized.

Bigby sighed. "It's fine, I'm just not a techno guy," he told the man child. "Now, about the ingredient, I think it's some kind of root, and-"

"Wait Biggs, I think I got something you'll like!" Soos exclaimed, as he dug out a CD from in between the seats. He then threw it into the slot on the radio, as some rap music started to play.

"Am I Blanchin', girl we Blanchin, I live up in a mansion," Soos started singing again, as Bigby started hitting his head against the book in frustration.

Soos looked over at the werewolf, before smiling. "Don't worry dude, it's real catchy. You'll love it eventually."

"I really doubt that," Bigby grumbled, hoping that their first stop comes as fast as possible.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel, after a couple minutes of walking, reached the large, colorful tent that was in the center of town. Crowds of people were walking in, as circus music blared loudly through the air.

Dipper's skin crawled at the sight. He really hates circuses. "Uh, Mabel, maybe we could just watch that one movie you like. That, uh, 'Dream Boy High' or whatever?"

"Oh come on Dipper, you can't still be scared of the circus. It's been five years now!" Mabel argued, excited to go to the festive show.

Dipper gulped, remembering the incident. When they were seven, the twins had gone with their parents to a circus. Dipper had loved it, with the lion tamers and magicians.

But then out came the clowns. The young children were in the front row, and the clowns targeted them for their jokes. Dipper was already a little freaked out, but the clowns grabbed the boy, and forced him into their tiny clown car.

On the inside, were several clowns, all smashed together, staring at the boy with wide, creepy smiles. It scarred the boy into the tears, and Dipper has hated clowns ever since.

Mabel squinted her eyes at her brother, seeing how deep in thought he was. "Earth to Dipper, come in Dipper. Have the aliens dissected you?"

Dipper shook his head. "What?"

"Because if they didn't dissect you, then there's no reason why you should ignore your sister. Now come on! We're going to be late!" Mabel told him, grabbing the paranormal investigator's arm and dragging him towards the tent.

The two made their way inside, to see stands filled with excited people, all watching the wide open space if the center of the tent. In that space, elephants, lions, and bears were wandering about, handled with care by people in black coats and extravagant top hats.

One of the men made a bear stand on it's hind legs, before throwing a group of bowling pins at the large animal. The bear grabbed the pins with his claws, before juggling them with reckless abandon, earning loud cheers from the crowd.

The Pines twins made their way into the stands, taking a seat at an empty space. Mabel stared excitedly at the show, as Dipper nervously looked around at the inside of the tent.

The sound of a bike horn honked loudly, as a large clown, with a trio of smaller clowns on his shoulders, and with an even smaller one at the top, rode in on a big wheel bicycle. The bike stopped with a squeak, as the four top clowns flipped off the large, frowning one.

The four landed on one knee, their arms all stretched out, presenting themselves as the crowd cheers. One by one, they jumped to their feet, as they dusted off their brightly colored overalls. Dipper noticed how they were organized from tallest to smallest, as the tallest of the four cleared his throat.

The crowd went silent, as the tall clown put his hand to his nose, and gave it a squeak. The second tallest then squeaked his red nose, then the third tallest followed suit, followed by the smallest. They then all squeaked their noses rhythmically, as they played some kind of joyful song.

The crowd cheered loudly, as laughter erupted from them. Dipper looked around, not quite sure what was funny about the song, and more than a little nervous. Mabel was giggling with glee as well, obviously entertained by the sight.

The clowns then quickly left, flipping away, as a series of spotlights lit up in the center of the area. A man in a long black coat, with a thin mustache and ridiculously tall hat, held a microphone in his hand, a smile on his face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The man greeted, to the roar of the crowd. "Good people of Gravity Falls! Welcome to Cirque de la Folie! I am your ringmaster, Valador! And now, we present, the trapeze act!"

He pointed upwards, as the spotlights were raised to a wire, high in the air. On top of the wire was a young boy, 12, who was balancing on the wire with one finger.

Mabel had her mouth open in awe at the boy, and was drooling slightly. "Hotness alert!" She said. "Code red! Code red!"

The boy then bounced off his finger, landing on the rope with his feet. He did a backflip off the wire, grabbing it with the tips of his fingers and swinging around as the crowd gasped in amazement.

Suddenly, an elephant walked up to the wire, and extended it's trunk out straight at the boy. The boy then let go of the wire, before sliding down the trunk, and bouncing off the elephant, gracefully landing on the ground. The crowd loudly applauded, as the boy took a bow.

"Ferdinand the Magnificent, everyone!" The Ringmaster exclaimed, as the crowd gave the boy love for his acrobatic feats. Dipper sighed, feeling that this was going to take a while.

* * *

Bigby's eye was twitching nervously, as Soos and 'Straight Blanchin' had been belting out some terrible tunes for the last twenty minutes.

"Must...resist...urge to kill..." Bigby muttered to himself, as Soos kept going. Finally, the pickup truck arrived at the first destination, making Bigby unclick his seat belt. "We're here!" He told Soos, as the car stopped, and the fable quickly jumped out of the car.

The two had arrived at a dense forest, as Bigby soaked in the fresh air, and the sound of birds chirping. "Ah...much better than rap..." Bigby said, as he scanned the area. Soos quickly joined him.

"So, what is it we're looking for?" The handyman asked.

"Something called the Palasian root," the sheriff explained. "Apparently, it's really white, and really rare."

The two started walking through the trees, looking around for the root.

"Now, this could take some time," Bigby stated. "It could take a few hours, hell, we could be here all night, and-"

"Do you smell cotton candy?" Soos asked. Bigby looked at his friend in confusion, before taking a few sniffs himself. He did smell something sweet.

"How did you-?" Bigby questioned, but Soos was off, tracking down the source of the smell. After some rustling through the plant life, Soos bent over, picking something up.

"Is this it?" Soos asked, holding up a white root.

Bigby was dumbfounded. "Yes, actually," he said, in slight shock at how fast the man child had actually found it.

"Cool," Soos simply stated, as he made his way back to the truck. Trying to get over the fact that Soos seemed to be an expert tracker, Bigby slowly followed behind him.

The two got back in the truck, and Soos handed the wolf the root. "Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought," Bigby said.

Soos then turned on the engine to the car, making his favorite song come back on the speakers, making Bigby howl in aggravation as Soos sang along.

"I hate my life!" Bigby yelled, as the two went on to their next destination.

* * *

"Mabel, please, can't we just go already?"

Mabel had forced her brother to come with her backstage after the show was over, eager to get a glimpse of the performers that she had watched. Especially one in particular.

"But I haven't seen Ferdinand yet!" She whined. "And I need to talk to him!"

"Why?" Dipper asked.

"Because talking leads to dates, and dates leads to a wedding, and weddings lead to Waddles being dressed in a little minister outfit."

"Mabel-"

Dipper had lost her. "And Grenda and Candy can be my maids of honor, and you could be the best man, and Soos can be the DJ, and Grunkle Stan could walk me down the aisle, and Bigby could be head of security, and-"

"Mabel!" Dipper interrupted, making her snap back to reality. "Just...try not to freak him out or anything. The last thing I want is a bunch of carnies mad at us."

"Pssh, you worry too much bro," Mabel said, before her eyes landed on her target. Ferdinand, drinking a bottle of water, and stretched out while doing the splits. "Ahh!" She squealed in delight, as she quickly made her way towards the performer.

Mabel jumped right in front of the flexible boy on the ground, making the boy fall back in surprise. "Hi!" Mabel excitedly greeted.

"Oh, hello madam," Ferdinand welcomed, as he got to his feet.

"I'm Mabel!" She smiled, as she held her hand out.

"I'm Ferdinand," the boy responded, grabbing the girl's hand, gently. "Mabel, you say? Such a lovely name for such a lovely girl." He then brought the hand to his lips, and kissed them.

"Oh! Well, uh, dreamy, heh..." Mabel sputtered, her cheeks turning bright red.

Dipper cleared his throat, joining the two and sticking his hand out. "Hi, I'm Dipper, Mabel's brother."

Ferdinand just looked at the hand, before turning his attention back to Mabel. "So, did you enjoy the show?" He asked the girl, as Dipper started to rub the back of his neck with his outstretched hand.

"It was amazing!" Mabel told him. "I was like 'whoa!' And then when you did that flip, I was like 'oooh!' It was great!"

The acrobat chuckled, amused. "You really have a bright personality Mabel. Have you ever thought about performing on stage?"

"What's this about performing?" A flamboyant voice interrupted. The three looked to see the tall and thin figure of the Ringmaster approaching them.

"Ah, Valador!" The boy warmly welcomed. "I would like you to meet Mabel."

"Hi!" Mabel bubbly blurted.

Valador's eyes widened. "Wow! Aren't you something else..." he said, immediately impressed by her presence. "So cheery and happy, you were born to be in a circus!"

"You really think so?!" Mabel asked, excited, as Dipper got a sinking feeling.

"Why of course!" The lanky man stated. "I haven't seen this kind of natural showmanship since..." Valador paused. "Well, that's not important. Boys!" He called.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the five clowns from earlier appeared next to the ringmaster. They honked their noses, curiously.

"I would like you to meet Mabel. Mabel, this is Benny-" the tallest of the main four honked in introduction.

"Lenny," The second tallest honked.

"Henny," the third tallest honked.

"Zenny," The shortest honked.

"And Craig."

"Hey, how ya doin'?" The brute in the back asked in a raspy voice.

"Boys," the ringmaster continued, "I want you to show Mabel around. Treat her like one of the family."

The clowns all honked their noses in understanding, before picking the giggling girl up and placing her on top of their shoulders. The group of carnies began to walk away, leaving Dipper alone.

"H-hey!" Dipper protested. "Mabel! We really need to go home!"

The large group, except for the oblivious Mabel, turned their heads towards the boy, all giving him icy, almost murderous stares.

"Or...or we could meet up later!" Dipper quickly conceded, scared for his life. The carnies then looked away, walking away with the small girl.

"Oh man..." Dipper breathed, feeling danger right around the corner.


	13. Chapter 13: Big Top Investigations

"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!" Dipper cried, as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the Mystery Shack. The sun was setting in the distance, as he sprinted to his home as fast as he could. He needed to tell somebody, anybody, about those circus freaks, and Mabel.

He busted in through the back door, finding himself in the kitchen. Not seeing anyone in there, he decided to call out again. "Grunkle Stan!"

"That you, kiddo?" He heard his great uncle call from the other room. "Where the heck have you been? You've been gone for like, 6 hours. I would've called the cops if they weren't looking for me because of that telemarketing scam."

After a few seconds, Stan walked into the room, looking at the sight of his nephew. "Where's Mabel?"

Dipper, trying to catch his breath from running, gasped. "She's...huff...circus...jeez, scary clowns...ugh..."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Is this slang? It's even weirder than I thought."

Finally, Dipper sucked in a big gulp of air. "Me and Mabel went to the circus, and these creepy circus guys said that she'd be a good fit, and-"

"Wait, Mabel's hanging around carnies?" Stan asked.

"Um, circus guys," Dipper corrected. "I thought they were called carnies too, but I thought about it, and-"

"Whatever. Is she getting paid for this?"

Dipper's eyes widened. "What!?"

"If she's getting money for being in a circus, I don't mind."

"But Grunkle Stan!" Dipper exclaimed. "These aren't normal people! They had this like, evil stare, and-"

The back door to the kitchen opened, interrupting the conversation. Both of the Pines mens' mouths gaped open.

"Sweet Jubilant Crackers!" Stan cried.

The two were staring at Mabel, who was wearing a purple clown outfit, with a purple, pointy clown hat. The entire outfit had yellow polka dots on it, and Mabel had white face paint on, with bright red lips, and a large, red nose.

"...what?" She innocently asked.

Dipper was freaking out slightly. "Mabel, what the heck is that!?" Dipper pointed at her clothes, making her look at her outfit.

"It's a clown suit!" She excitedly explained.

Stan was rubbing his neck. "Uh, kid, no offense, but you kinda look like a serial killer. And not the cool kind."

"There's a cool serial killer?" Dipper asked.

Stan thought about it for a moment. "Actually, now that you mention it, no, there isn't. Well, with that revelation, I'm heading to bed." He then turned to Dipper. "I'll let you deal with..." he gestured towards his niece. "This."

With that, the old man turned around, and walked out of the kitchen. Dipper crossed his arms, as he looked at his sister. She noticed the look.

"What is it?" She asked. "Is it my face paint? Is it not colorful enough?"

"Mabel, what are you doing?" Dipper asked, incredulously. "Can't you see that something's going on over there?"

"Pfft, Dipper. Always paranoid," The girl in the clown makeup dismissed.

"This isn't paranoia!" Dipper said, annoyed. "This is concern! Completely rational concern!"

Mabel just rolled her eyes. "You just don't like the fact that I'm hanging around a bunch of clowns."

"Not just the clowns. The ringmaster, the liontamer, Ferdinand-"

"Don't you dare try to diss Ferdinand!" Mabel told him, getting a bit mad. "He's an angel! A flexible angel who's really good at flipping around!"

"Mabel, something isn't right about them! They looked like they wanted to kill me!"

"Look Dipper, they're my friends. And they're really nice! They said that I'm the funniest person they've ever met! And they taught me this awesome pie throwing trick!"

"Mabel-"

"Dipper, I'll be fine! Now, I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to go to bed. Honk!" She stated, as she squeezed her nose, before walking off.

Dipper sighed. He knows that there's more than meets the eye with those circus freaks. And he was going to figure it out.

* * *

Early the next morning, Bigby was in a convenience store, walking up to the counter. He plopped down a couple of dollar bills, earning the clerk's attention.

"Pack of Huff N Puff's, and some snacks. Doesn't matter what kind."

The clerk looked at the Fable in suspicion. "Aren't you a little young to be smoking?"

"Aren't you a little young to be dying?" Bigby threatened. The clerk gulped.

"Right away, sir," he said, before he went to the back to get Bigby his order.

The sheriff sighed, as he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He and Soos spent the night in the truck, and it was probably the most uncomfortable sleep in his entire life. He cursed his luck in the situation, as he looked out the slightly dirty window of the store.

He saw Soos outside his truck, dancing along to "Straight Blanchin'", while a cow just stared blankly at him.

"Only in Oregon..." he joked to himself. Suddenly, he heard his cellphone ring, making him dig it out of his pocket. He then answered it, and brought it to his ear. "You got Bigby."

"Hey man," he heard Wendy greet on the other end.

"Wendy? What are you doing up already?"

"My dad usually has us wake up super early. 'The way of a lumberjack!'" She mocked, in a fake, manly voice.

"Ah."

"Are you doing anything? I'm kinda bored, and I don't really want to go to work today."

"Do you ever actually work?" Bigby asked, as the clerk came back from the back with a can of Pitt Cola. Bigby grabbed it, before opening it with one hand, as the clerk disappeared to the back again.

"Ha, not if I can help it. So, are you free, man?"

Bigby sighed. "Sorry, I'm kind of...on a road trip right now."

"Road trip?" Wendy asked.

"With Soos."

"With Soos!?" Wendy repeated, a bit aggravated.

"Yeah. The guy's already ate all the snacks he brought. I'm buying some more right now, actually."

"You're on a road trip with Soos?" She flatly asked, ignoring Bigby's comments.

"Uh, yeah?"

"And you didn't invite me? Dude, I thought we were friends!" She stated, annoyed.

"It's not like I'm doing this for funsies!" Bigby defended. "I'm gathering ingredients for a spell. Soos was the only one available."

"I was available, but you didn't ask me!" Wendy argued.

"Can you even drive a car?"

He heard silence on the other end, as he took a sip of his soda. "Not legally," Wendy finally said.

"Uh huh. Sorry I didn't tell you."

"Whatever, man..." She said, as Bigby heard the sad tone in her voice.

"Are you ok? You sound kind of...not you," The Sheriff observed.

"It's nothing, it's just...ugh, Robbie's been acting like such a jerk lately."

"Who?" Bigby asked, as he stared at Soos breakdancing next to a cow. He took another sip of his drink.

"He's this guy I used to date. We've been able to hang out after we broke up, but lately he's been shoving Tambry in my face."

"Again, who?" Bigby asked, as he walked around the store, observing the items they had for sale.

"She's been my best friend since we were like, six. Come on, I've must of talked to you about her."

"Nope. Not a peep."

"Oh. Well anyway, they're dating now-"

"Awkward."

"And Robbie just keeps talking about it, and I feel like he's trying to do it on purpose, and even Thompson can see it!"

"Wendy, I don't know any of your friends, so can you please stop talking about them like I have any idea who they are?"

"Right, sorry. I kinda forget that I just met you. We hang out like, all the time. It's kind of weird that you haven't met the others yet."

"Probably for the best," Bigby told her, taking another drink of his can of soda. "I'm not exactly the friendliest person around."

"Nah dude, you're nice."

"One sec," Bigby told her, before taking the phone away from his ear. "Hey! Clerk guy! Hurry the hell up before I tear your arms off!"

"Yes sir!" The clerk called from the back, scared.

Bigby put the phone back to his ear. "You were saying?" Bigby asked, forgetting what they were talking about.

"...Never mind..."

"Anyway, I need to get going. We'll do something when I get back, ok?"

"Can we egg my principal's house?" She asked.

"We can burn down his house if you want," Bigby said, a wolfish grin on his face.

"Tempting, but I'll stick with the eggs. Good luck!" She said, before hanging up.

Bigby put his phone back in his pocket, before walking back up to the counter. The clerk had placed a large bag on the counter, with the Huff N Puffs right next to it, as he stared at the wolf with wide, fearful eyes.

"Also, one of these fruit pies," Bigby said, taking the pack of smokes and opening them up. The clerk quickly grabbed the treat, and placed it in the bag. Bigby finished his Pitt Cola, before throwing the can on the ground. "Thanks," he gruffly said, before grabbing the bag and walking out of the store.

Soos was still dancing to Straight Blanchin', as the Cow that was staring at him was starting to lose interest in the display of funky moves.

Bigby sighed at the sight of the Handyman. "Soos!" He called, earning his attention.

"Hey dude, did you get some good stuff?" Soos asked.

"I think so," Bigby answered, as he grabbed the fruit pie out of the bag and threw it to the man-child, much to his delight. Bigby then walked over to the truck, as the two went inside the vehicle.

"So," Soos started, in between bites of his snack. "What's the next ingredient?"

Bigby took the large book from under his seat, and opened it up. "It says here that it's something called a 'Birchest'. It looks like a deformed bean."

"Cool, I like beans," Soos said. Bigby looked at the handyman for a second, before turning away.

"Right...can we get going?"

"Sure thing, bro!" Soos excitedly answered, as he turned on the truck, and the two drove away from the store.

"Any chance we can change the song?" Bigby asked.

Soos sternly shook his head. "Not until you love it."

"So, when Hell freezes over?"

Soos laughed. "You're funny dude."

Bigby groaned, as the annoying rap music continued to assault his ears.

* * *

"That's it Mabel! Show me what you can do!"

Mabel was back in the circus, still in her clown outfit, hanging out with Ferdinand. She was currently trying to balance on a unicycle, much to the acrobatic boy's delight.

"I don't know Ferdinand...I think I'm gonna-whoa!-mess up," she said, as she struggled to stay upright on the circus contraption.

Ferdinand laughed. "That's the beauty of the circus! Even when you mess up, you succeed!"

"Even you?" Mabel asked, as she tried not to fall off.

"Eh, no. When I mess up, I become a pancake."

"A beautiful pancake," she swooned, before she fell off the unicycle with a yelp.

Ferdinand quickly helped her back to her feet, as the young girl furiously blushed.

Meanwhile, Dipper was watching the whole exchange from behind a cannon, hiding in the distance. He looked at the watch on his wrist. He only had about an hour until the circus opened up to the townspeople. He needed to find something about these guys, and fast.

He quietly began to sneak away, careful to make sure he didn't show himself to his sister or her crush. He made his way further into the enormous tent, sneaking from prop box to prop box, careful not to let anybody see him.

Eventually, he found himself near animal cages, filled with bears, lions, and elephants. There were a ton of men taking care of the animals, with some of them feeding them, and others cleaning them. Dipper took cover when he saw the five clowns, seemingly conversing among themselves, before walking out of sight.

Dipper sighs in relief, as he moves from the prop box he was hiding behind to another. From there, he saw a trailer, stash away in between animal cages. The Ringmaster, Valador, walked out of the front door. He discreetly looked around, before closing and locking the door behind him. He then walked away, leaving Dipper alone.

"There's something in there..." Dipper deduced to himself.

Just then, he felt a finger tap him on the shoulder. With a surprised gasp, he quickly turned around and raised his fists up, terrified. However, he only saw Pacifica Northwest.

The blonde raised a confused eyebrow. "You look more freaked out than usual, dork."

Dipper slowly calmed down. "Oh, Pacifica. Hi. What are you doing here?"

Pacifica gave a smile, as she dug in her pocket to pull out a backstage pass. "One of the many perks of being a Northwest. You know, along with the vast amounts of money and hate we get."

Dipper perked up. "Maybe you can help me!"

Pacifica looked confused again. "With what?"

"Well, you see, Mabel got sucked into the circus-"

"Called it!" Pacifica joked, interrupting Dipper.

He rolled his eyes in response. "-And there's something freaky about them, so I'm trying to figure out what's going on with them."

Pacifica didn't look convinced. "You know, this is pretty out there, even for you."

Dipper groaned in frustration. "Are you going to help or not?"

Pacifica thought about it for a moment. "Well, you're not usually wrong about this kind of stuff...fine, I'll help."

Dipper smiled. "Great!" He then turned back towards the trailer. "I saw the ringmaster lock that trailer. I think something's in there, so we need to find a way inside and investigate."

"Five seconds after I agree to help you, and you ask me to commit breaking and entering?"

Dipper nervously rubbed his arm. She had a point. "That's...kinda what I'm asking you to do."

The two were quiet for a few moments, before Pacifica got a mischievous smile on her face. "Cool."

* * *

"We got anymore disinfectant?"

Soos and Bigby were in the truck, driving, covered in multiple scratches and cuts. Bigby was smoking, silently fuming about what had just happened, as Soos' favorite song continued to play.

It turns out that the Birchest had some properties that weren't mentioned in the book. One of them being the ability for the bean like thing to be able to jump around. Which led the two to fall into a bunch of thorn bushes to grab it.

"Bigby?" Soos asked, having the wolf snap out of his daydream.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Yeah?" He gruffly asked.

"We got anymore disinfectant?" He asked again.

"Oh, yeah." Bigby then reached in between the seats for the bottle of clear liquid, before handing it to Soos. He then stuck the smoke back between his teeth, before looking out the window.

He couldn't help but think of home. He was worried, especially for Snow. Sure, she's a strong and capable leader, and she's the only one who could keep all the other Fables together, but she needed him. But instead, he's in Oregon. Because he got magically sent there, and he has no idea why, how, or who did it. And he was no closer to figuring it out.

Maybe if he can make contact. Maybe if he could just see what's going on at home.

"You ok?"

Bigby turned to see Soos staring at him, in slight concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bigby answered, taking the Huff N Puff out of his mouth. "Just...thinking..."

"'bout what?"

"Oh, things...and...stuff..."

"Heh, I got ya. I think about things and stuff all the time too."

Bigby just looked at him for a moment, before taking a drag of his smoke and looking back out the window. "Right."

"So, uh..." Soos started, but trailed off.

Bigby looked at him with a curious look. "Yeah?"

"Well, since you're a fairy tale, that means you know other fairy tales, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought I explained all of this."

"Oh, you did, I was just making sure," Soos answered. "So, uh, you know Goldilocks?"

Bigby gulped when he heard the name. "Uh, she's not exactly my favorite person."

"I knew it!" Soos declared, making Bigby confused.

"Knew what?"

"That she's a jerk!" the handyman answered. "When I was a kid, my Abuelita would read me Goldilocks and the Three Bears every night. And we'd always say how big of a jerk she was. I mean, breaking into a family's house and using their stuff? Not cool."

Bigby smirked. "You know, the Three Bears would of loved to hear that," he chuckled.

Soon, Soos joined in, as the chuckling soon became laughter between the two. After a few moments, the two quieted down. Bigby rolled down his window, before flicking his cigarette out, and rolling the window back up. He then grabbed the bag of snacks, before pulling out a packet of beef jerky.

"Hey Biggs?" Soos asked.

"Yeah?" Bigby said as he started eating the jerky.

"Any chance we can hang out more?"

Bigby was a bit surprised, but thought about it for a moment. "Sure."

"Cool," Soos smiled.

Bigby quietly munched on his beef jerky.

"Hey Biggs?"

"Yeah, Soos?"

"Any chance you can pour some soda into my mouth?"

"Nope."

"Pushing it?"

"Yep."

"Okiedokiee."

* * *

Dipper and Pacifica were able to jimmy a window, letting them climb inside, and land with a soft thud.

They looked around, only to see that their only light source was from the much larger tent's spotlights on the outside. The otherwise dark trailer was littered with various papers, cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and overall garbage.

"Jeez. These carnies need a maid," Pacifica commented.

"Circus people," Dipper corrected.

"Whatever."

The two then split up, searching opposite ends of the rather small trailer.

"So, what are we looking for, exactly?" Pacifica asked.

"Ledgers, files, documents, any thing that can tell us if they do anything unusual," Dipper answered, as he sifted through papers.

"I found a confirmation letter about a payment on a tiger," Pacifica said, holding a piece of paper in the air.

Dipper looked at it, before waving off the idea. "Nah, that's pretty normal for a circus."

The two then investigated in silence for a few moments, trying to find something off in the various files.

"Hey, Dipper?" Pacifica asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what Bigby did to my dad?"

Dipper stopped, and looked over at the blonde, who was staring right back at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just...after Bigby stopped working for my dad, he's been acting...weird."

"Weird?"

"Like, he'll still do what he normally does, but he seems...phased out."

"Phased out?" Dipper was curious.

"He has an...an edge now, like he'll say something normal, and then act really frustrated over something stupid. Also, he had these weird marks on his face. He said it was a sunburn, but I don't believe him."

Dipper furrowed his brow, a bit concerned. "Bigby told us that he quit."

"That's it?" She asked.

"That's what he said," the paranormal investigator answered.

Pacifica had an unreadable expression on her face. One that Dipper had never seen before. "Alright..." She quietly said, turning away and going back to work. Dipper did the same, but now had his mind on what Pacifica said.

What did Bigby do to her father? He wasn't sure. She doesn't know that Bigby is the Big Bad Wolf. In fact, everyone out of the family, except for Soos and Wendy, had no idea about him being the Big Bad Wolf.

He didn't do something to Preston, did he? He didn't show him what he was exactly, right? Bigby wasn't that reckless.

Then again, Bigby does have a temper. He's seen it, he's heard about it, and Bigby doesn't try to hide it. He's very nice to people who deserve it, but with someone like Preston...

"Hey Dipper?" Pacifica called, breaking Dipper from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning around.

"Is this something?" She asked, as she pointed to a black box, with a red outline.

Dipper walked over, as he stared at the strange box. It seemed...strange. Dipper inspected it all over, before taking out his journal and flipping through it.

"What are you doing?" The heiress wondered, as Dipper thoughtfully scanned the book.

"Hmm, I don't see anything like this in the journal. But, it doesn't look normal," he replied, as he studied the box.

"Should we open it?" Pacifica asked.

"Probably not, but I'm gonna do it."

"Why?"

"Because I'm an idiot," Dipper dryly answered, as he slowly gripped the edge of the box, and lifted it open with a creak.

He saw photos of various people. A tall, skinny man, a large brute of a man, a small, almost dwarf-like person, and various other pictures, some in black and white. Intrigued, Dipper looked through them all, with Pacifica also looking at them.

"Pictures?" She said absent-mindedly.

"They look familiar..." Dipper said, as he rubbed his chin. Skinny man, large man, small man...

He found a picture of Ferdinand, who was wearing an outfit reminiscent of the 1960's in the photo.

Dipper gasped as he figured it out. "These are all the performers! These are the clowns, and I saw some of those guys feeding animals, and...oh my gosh, some of these photos are ancient! Some of them look like it's from the 50's!"

He picked up some of the photos, to see an old piece of paper poking out. Dipper carefully pinched the piece of paper with his fingers, and gently tugged it out, to show some old writing on it.

"'Anyone who disturbs the resting place of Valador the Mad Clown will be enslaved by his spirit for eternity. He who disturbs Valador the Mad Clown will have to sacrifice a tribute towards him for all eternity, or suffer the loss of all he cares about,'" Dipper read, slowly growing more terrified at each passing word. Shocked, he dropped the paper. "Pacifica, Valador's-!"

"Valador's ready to take your souls."

The two children turned around in complete fear, as they saw Ferdinand looking dejected, with Valador towering behind him, smiling evilly, ear to ear.


	14. Chapter 14: Ringmaster Mayhem!

**A/N: Alright, so here's the deal. It seems that the whole "multiple series" idea is throwing a lot of people off, and ultimately, making these stories harder to follow. So here's what I'm going to do. From now on, everything will be under the original Wolf Among Gravity Falls story. I will finish this arc on both series, but afterwards, it will be solely under the original. Thank you for your patience and support, and I apologize for making things so needlessly complicated.**

* * *

Dipper and Pacifica slowly backed up, fearful of the ringmaster.

"Valador!" Dipper cried. "What's going on!?"

Valador simply smiled. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked, as he took a step forward, his hand still on the shoulder of Ferdinand, who looked ashamed.

Pacifica lightly shook her head. "Uh, no. Not really."

Valador blinked. "Oh. Let me explain then. Actually, better yet, let's let Ferdinand here explain," he offered, before pushing the young trapeze boy forward.

"It was 1854," he started. "I was just a young boy who loved the circus. One day, I snuck in the back, found that chest-"

"And summoned me..." Valador added, as he wrapped his arms around the child. "I took his soul, and made him a part of my circus act. For decades, we've gone around, taking the souls of anyone who was foolish enough to join with us. Now, we've found another."

Dipper gasped. "Mabel..."

"Mabel will be one of us after tonight. The second she performs, is the second she comes under my control..." Valador threatened. "And now, I'll be able to take you down, and assure that the show will go without a hitch."

Dipper was starting to panic. He was stuck in a trailer with some kind of circus monster, and his minion, while his sister was in danger. He needs to think of a plan!

"mubblebulle," Pacifica suddenly mumbled, not speaking clearly.

Valador raised an eyebrow. "What was that, little girl?" He asked, bending down to get face to face with the blonde. "A plea for mercy, perhaps?"

"Actually, I said you looked thirsty," she answered, pulling a seltzer bottle out from behind her, and spraying the ringmaster in the face.

His head whipped back, as he started sputtering and trying to get the water out of his eyes. Dipper, seeing what the heiress was doing, ran with her past Valador, and out of the trailer.

"That was awesome!" Dipper exclaimed, as the two kids kept running.

"Say how cool I am later!" Pacifica told him. "Keep going!"

Valador eventually recovered, and poked his head out of the trailer, furious. "After them!" He yelled, as his clowns came out of the woodwork, and started giving chase.

"Man I wish Bigby was here!" Dipper said, as they kept getting chased.

* * *

Deep in the Oregon wilderness, Soos, tied up, was being carried off by a group of gnomes.

He smiled. "Where are we going dudes?"

"We're going to our home!" One answered. "We're totally not going to eat you or anything."

"Cool!" Soos enthusiastically replied, as the gnomes speedily went to their home.

Behind them, Bigby was sprinting, trying to save his friend. "Get back here!" He cried, following them.

* * *

The townsfolk of Gravity Falls were all in the stands, as they were ready to see the performance the circus had promised them. After a few nights of dazzling displays, they wanted desperately to see how the performers would top themselves this time.

Mabel was hiding out of sight, still in her clown makeup, incredibly excited. Today was the day! She would go out there, perform, impress Ferdinand with her AMAZING skills, and they'll live happily ever after. She just has to wait for her cue, and-

"MABEL!" Dipper called, making her turn around.

"Wha-?" She squeaked out, before an arm grabbed her, picking her off her feet. She looked to see Pacifica holding her, as she and Dipper were riding an old fashioned big wheel bike. The bike rode out into the performing area, making the crowd cheer loudly, as Mabel suddenly realized that they were being chased by a bunch of clowns in a clown car.

"Come on you weirdo!" Pacifica exclaimed, as she pulled Mabel up to the rest of them. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Dipper?" Mabel asked. "What's going on?"

Two clowns poked out of the small car, one on each side. They started throwing pies at the bike, as the kids swerved to avoid them. Dipper noticed how they sizzled when they hit the ground.

"Acid pies!?" Dipper exclaimed. "Seriously!?"

"Dipper!" Mabel cried, a pie flying over her head.

"Right. Valador is actually some evil carnival demon that Ferdinand set free over a century ago. Everyone in this circus is under his control, and he tried taking your soul by getting you to perform."

Mabel frowned. "So Ferdinand isn't what I thought he was?"

Pacifica was flabbergasted. "Seriously!? That's what you're getting from this?"

"We deal with weird stuff all the time," Mabel explained. "Guess I have to add his name to the 'Mabel's Failed Romances' chart."

Pacifica then turned towards Dipper. "Is she serious?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "She has a chart. It's hanging over her bed at the Mystery Shack. It's really big, and really sad."

A few pies flew overhead, making the kids scream in panic.

"Where's Bigby when you need him!?" Mabel yelled.

* * *

Bigby was pinching the bridge of his nose at the sight in front of him.

"It's cool Bigby," Soos stated, wearing a crown made out of leaves. "The gnomes are just making me their king."

"For the last time, Soos," Bigby sighed, "They aren't making you their king, they're trying to eat you!"

"Oh yeah? Then why did they give me a throne?" Soos asked, a smile on his face.

"That's not a throne, you moron!" The fable growled. "It's a pot of boiling water!"

Soos was, indeed, sitting in a pot of water, placed over a fire, as the water inside started to heat up and bubble. He had his shirt off, as he seemed to be enjoying himself. A few guard gnomes were standing in between the pot and Bigby.

"Really? I just thought it had a hot tub feature. With snacks," he added, as he took one of the many vegetables floating in there with him, a carrot, and took a bite. He scrunched up his face. "Hey, do you think I could get any tastier snacks? Like some toffee peanuts or something?" He asked, making Bigby facepalm.

* * *

The trio of kids were still riding as fast as possible away from the clowns, only to have an acid pie hit the big wheel, melting it, and causing the three to fall off the bike as it came apart, with bolts and parts flying everywhere.

In the crowd, Toby Determined was watching the circus, a huge smile on his face. "Boy, this sure is a swell circus!" He happily exclaimed. Suddenly, one of the smaller wheels to the bike struck him in the face. "Ow, my glasses!" He whined, in pain.

Meanwhile, the kids were sprawled out on the dusty floor, as they quickly got back to their feet. When they looked up, they saw the clown car slide nearby, parking. One of the doors open, to have all five clowns come out, standing threateningly in front of them.

The kids heard maniacal laughter, as a cloud of pink smoke suddenly swirled in front of them, fading away to show Valador, laughing hysterically, with a depressed Ferdinand at his side. "Fools!" He gloated. "Did you actually think that you could stop me!? Nothing beats the circus!"

Mabel looked back, to see a man cleaning a cannon. "Except for the circus," she mumbled to herself, as she ran towards it, as Valador was completely oblivious, focusing on Dipper and Pacifica.

"You two have caused enough trouble for me," he said. "I'll be happy to get rid of you in front of an excited crowd, and take your energetic sister as my own."

Craig was the only one who seemed to notice what Mabel was doing, as she shooed off the cannon cleaner, and took his rag. "Uh, boss?" He rasped.

"Not now, Craig!" The ringmaster snapped. "Can't you see I'm taunting children? Now, where were we?"

"No, boss, seriously, you-" Craig tried to warn, only to be cut off by the annoyed squeaks of the rest of the clowns honking their noses.

"You thought you were so clever," Valador continued, "but when it comes down to it, you-"

"HEY VALADOR!"

The ringmaster looked up, to see Mabel standing next to the cannon, her body halfway in. "How's this for a performance?" She asked, as she took the rag she was holing and used it to wipe off her clown makeup. She then sputtered a bit. "Ew, my face is all waxy now." She then went down into the cannon, for it to fire her straight at the circus demon.

She soared right at him, knocking him into the rest of the clowns, making them all fall. When Mabel recovered, she saw that she had Valador's tall top hat sitting on her lap.

With a groan, Valador sat up, to see the girl holding his hat, as she stood up. "NO! Not the hat! Not the source of my pow-I mean, not my most prized article of clothing."

Mabel caught his slip up, as with a smile, she placed the hat on the ground, and stomped on it.

"NOOOOOO!" Valador screamed, as his body slowly turned into glowing dust, disappearing forever.

The clowns behind him seemed relieved, as they also slowly began turning to dust. "Good work, kiddo," Craig said, as the clowns disappeared, giving one final honk of their noses.

"Mabel!"

She turned to see Ferdinand, gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You have freed me! You have freed everyone that evil Valador has captured! All because of you!"

Mabel blushed. "Aw, well, it was nothing," she told, love struck.

"Now, I shall rest easy. Thank you, sweet Mabel," he said, as he leaned in for a kiss. Before he could connect however, he had already turned to dust, leaving Mabel to feel a bit sad, and a bit disappointed.

Dipper walked up to her, and patted her on the back. "You gonna be ok?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Just weird, ya know? Hey, sorry about everything. I should've listened to you. Again."

Dipper smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it. If you didn't do this stuff, you know how boring my life would be?"

Mabel giggled. "Awkward Sibling Hug?" She asked.

"Awkward Sibling Hug," Dipper confirmed.

The two then wrapped their arms around each other. "Pat pat," they both said, as they both patter each other's back. Pacifica just watched the display in confusion.

"Is this normal for you guys?" The heiress asked.

Dipper laughed slightly. "You have nooo idea."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that," she said, joking slightly. "Do you think the crowd is going to buy that this was part of the show?"

The crowd stared at the floor, a bit confused about what they just witnessed. The crowd then stood up, grumbling at the show, underwhelmed, as they filed out.

Mabel shrugged. "Guess they didn't like it."

Pacifica sighed. "I guess I should head home..." she said, disappointed.

Dipper and Mabel shared a look, before they both smiled. "Hey Pacifica?" Dipper asked. "Wanna come over to the shack and have a movie night?"

Pacifica seemed to perk up. "Uh, yeah, sure. I guess I could 'grace' you with my presence," she told them, in fake snootiness.

Mabel rolled her eyes, before grabbing the blonde's arm, taking her by surprise as she started getting dragged to the Shack. "Come on you. Hey, maybe you could sleepover! We could do each other's hair, and talk about boys, and we could dress Waddles up in outfits!"

Pacifica gave a small smile. "Sounds like fun," she said, as the three left the tent, ready to relax after their long day.


	15. Chapter 15: Mirror Mirror

Grunkle Stan, in his casual outfit, rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses in frustration, as he stood in the Mystery Shack's living room.

"I didn't get made when you basically invited Soos to stay whenever he wanted. I didn't get mad when you invited Bigby to live here. Heck, I didn't get mad when you brought Gompers in to sleep on the couch. But you brought...THAT here!?"

He pointed at Pacifica, who was sitting in between Dipper and Mabel on the floor in front of the TV. Stan was absolutely disgusted at the sight, hatred bubbling up onto his face. Pacifica looked slightly surprised.

"Grunkle Stan, it's alright!" Mabel defended, wearing a sweater with a clown face crossed out in red. "She's waaaaay better than she use to be. She even gave me all of her makeup!"

Pacifica brushed her hair to one side. "Well, all the makeup I had in my bag."

"Not helping," Dipper told her.

Stan just shook his head. "This little brat and her family's been causing problems with us for weeks now! And you invite her to watch..." He paused to pick up the DVD box of the movie the kids were watching. "The Chupacabra Express?" He asked, confused.

Mabel pointed at her brother. "Dipper picked it," she explained, as Dipper awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Jeez kid, are you ever not a nerd?" Stan asked, throwing the box over his shoulder. "Where were we? Oh right, moral outrage! Get her outta here!"

"Grunkle Stan, she helped us out with those weird circus people I told you about!" Dipper told him.

Stan frowned. "Really?" He asked the blonde.

"Uh, yeah," she said, not liking the attention from the older man who clearly didn't like her.

Stan stared at her for a few seconds, giving her the evil eye. Eventually, his face softened, as he sighed. "Do I even own this house anymore? Fine, she can come over, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"Thank you, Mister Pines," Pacifica said.

"Yeah yeah, I'm gonna hit the hay," he said, ignoring the girl as he started to walk away. "If you wake me up, I'll throw you out. Trust me, all the money in the world won't save you from some of the stuff I've got hidden in my closet." He then stopped, looking around shiftily. "Don't go in there, by the way," he warned, as he finally left.

The kids, happy that everything went smoothly, started watching the movie again. Pacifica raised an eyebrow at it. "So, they eat goat bones?"

"Yep," Dipper answered.

"Do they really need all of those goats?" She asked.

"Well, they are running a train for Chupacabras," Dipper reasoned.

The three watched silently for a few moments.

"This is so lame," Pacifica declared, as she saw a nod of agreement from Mabel, and a shake of disbelief from Dipper.

* * *

 _ **"WOLF SEEMS TO BE DOING PRETTY WELL."**_

"Yes, he does. I'm worried about it."

 _ **"WORRIED? WHY SHOULD WE BE WORRIED! THE WOLF IS STILL FITTING NICELY IN OUR-EXCUSE ME-MY PLAN."**_

"Yes, and don't get me wrong, it's a very nice plan, but he's dangerous with a clear mind. He could figure this out before we have a chance to really put our plans in motion."

 _ **"HMMM. YOU COULD BE RIGHT. HOW ABOUT WE THROW HIM A CURVEBALL THEN? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"**_

* * *

The Mystery Twins were hanging out on the porch of the Shack, as the sun was high in the air, beating down on them. They decided to just enjoy themselves, and take a small break from any crazy adventures. They were currently laying on the couch on the porch, their heads touching as they were both sticking out opposite ways, resting their eyes.

Suddenly, the screech of tires made them open their eyes, as they sat up. They jumped off the couch with smiles when they saw a red pickup truck park in front of the gift shop.

Soos jumped out of the truck, a huge smile on his face. "That was the best road trip ever!" He exclaimed, as he fist pumped into the air. "Woo!"

Bigby got out of the passenger's side, a deep, tired frown on his face, as he ripped off a gnome that had latched onto his arm by biting him.

"I'll destroy you!" The gnome threatened, before Bigby nonchalantly chucked him into the woods. Bigby then turned back towards the truck, before grabbing a paper bag filled with items in it. He then walked towards the shack, entering through the front door, and going into the kitchen. Everyone followed behind him.

Bigby placed the bag down on the table, before searching thoroughly through the cupboards.

"So, how was your road trip?" Mabel asked.

Bigby stiffened, whipping his head at the girl, and glaring at her.

"Uh, I'll take that as an 'ok'?" She said, nervous, before Bigby got back to searching.

"It was great dudes!" Soos told them. "We found this thing that smelled like cotton candy, and we chased this jumping bean, and then we fought gnomes, and Bigby got into a fight with a coyote, and-"

"There they are!" Bigby exclaimed, as he pulled out a mixing bowl and an egg beater. He placed them on the table, before rummaging the items out of the bag. One by one, he pulled out the Palasian root, the Birchest, and finally, a gnome guard's pointy hat. He threw them all into the bowl, before using the egg beater, turning it into a mass of purplish goop.

"What is that stuff?" Dipper asked, looking at the bowl.

Bigby picked up the concoction. "It's the spell. Where's the nearest mirror?"

"The bathroom," Mabel answered.

"To the bathroom!" Bigby exclaimed, as the four quickly made their way towards the bathroom. While small, they were able to pretty much fit everyone inside, as the Sheriff stared at the medicine cabinet mirror.

"So, what do you do now?" Mabel asked.

In response, Bigby threw the mixture at the mirror, having the goop stick to the glass for a second. Finally, the goop faded into the mirror, disappearing from view, as the clear glass started showing a green vortex swirling inside it.

"I've been thinking about this one for a while. Mirror Mirror, on the wall, will you please answer my call?"

Suddenly, a green face appeared in the mirror, making the others gasp in surprise.

"Hello, Bigby," The Magic Mirror greeted. "It's been a while since we spoke. I was worried you had croaked."

"I got sent out of the Highlands," Bigby explained, scratching his cheek. "Somehow. Anyway, can you show me the Highlands?"

The Mirror frowned, a slight look of sadness on his face.

"What? Oh right, I didn't rhyme. Mirror Mirror-"

"No, it isn't that," The Mirror answered. "The Highlands are no more. Unfortunately, they are covered in gore."

Bigby's eyes widened. "What?"

"They are now called the Homelands, and they no longer house the Fables. They have been forced to move to somewhere more stable."

"Fabletown..." Bigby muttered.

"Fabletown?" Dipper asked.

"We...we were having problems with these...forces. This army. They were starting to attack us, try to take over," Bigby lamented. "We had made a backup plan, incase we couldn't stop them. We made a secret community out of a neighborhood in New York. It looks like we live there now."

"Yes," The mirror confirmed.

"Someone did this. The same person who sent me here. They wanted me gone so they could take over the High...the Homelands," Bigby thought aloud, sullen.

"Are you going back over there?" Mabel asked, worried for her friend.

He shook his head. "There's still a connection between this place and Fabletown. I'm almost positive that this town has something to do with this. I can't leave until I figure out what." He looked at the Mirror. "At least we have a line of communication now. Kinda."

"So, what do we do now?" Soos asked.

Bigby looked down. "I...I don't know."

The twins frowned, as they shared a concerned look. They never saw Bigby this sad before. He was worn out, and hit hard by the news. He seemed almost lost in his own mind, his eyes showing nothing but deep thought.

"Bigby?" Dipper asked.

"Just...give me a moment to myself," he asked, making the three share worried glances with each other, before reluctantly complying, and leaving the bathroom.

"Sheriff?" The Mirror asked, making Bigby look up. "Is there anything I can do for you? Now that I know where you are, and you placed the spell on the premises, I should be able to move freely between any mirror inside."

"Thanks, Mirror."

"Bigby, do you want to see her?"

The wolf went quiet, as he closed his eyes. "Yes."

"I'll need the rhyme."

Bigby gulped. "Mirror Mirror, I need to know. Please, s-show me Snow."

The Mirror swirled, showing the image of Snow, trying to calmly handle a swarm of panicking Fables behind her desk in the Business office of Fabletown. Bigby couldn't hear any sound, but the visual was enough for him.

"Thank god," he muttered, not sure what to do next. "I'll be going, Mirror."

The face of the mirror appeared again. "I'm here when you need me."

The sheriff nodded, as he turned and exited the bathroom, a deep frown still on his face. He needed to think about this, get his mind together. He had no idea what to do, where to go, who to talk to. He had many more questions than answers.

He is sure of one thing though.

Things were about to get crazy.


	16. Chapter 16: Welcome to the Wolf Asylum

He wasn't sure where he was, or how he got there.

His head felt swimmy, unfocused, as he tried to gather all the information he could. Nothing. He couldn't remember anything. He wasn't sure what his name was. Something with a 'B', he thinks. B...Bigby...Bigby? That doesn't sound right.

No, wait, it was Bigby. Bigby...he couldn't remember his last name. Not good. He knew that much. How drugged up was he? Couldn't think straight, everything was blurry in his mind.

He looked around, trying to remember his surroundings. It was a room, with white, padded walls, and white, padded floors. A white, padded door was in front of him, with only a small window with bars on it to distinguish it. The entire room was bright, with strong lights coming down from the ceiling. It hurt his eyes. He needed to block it, but...

His arms were bound together. He was wearing a straightjacket. Why was he...?

"I'm not crazy!" He yelled, not sure why. "I'm not crazy! I'm normal!" He cried, begging, as he got to his feet and started shoulder blocking the door, to no effect.

He was starting to get desperate, as a few tears started falling down his face. Why, he wasn't sure. "I'm not insane! Please! PLEASE!"

His cries went unacknowledged, as some orderlies, wearing green scrubs and face masks, ignored him as they walked by his room. The three staff members went to Bigby's old padded cell, which had been shredded to pieces, claw marks covering the walls.

"I'm not insane!" Bigby cried again. "I'm not! I'M NOT! I'M NOOOOOOT!"

His cries echoed through the asylum, as the storm outside raged on.

* * *

 _Three Days Earlier_

Bigby was sitting inside the Mystery Shack, a cigarette in his mouth, frowning deeply. He was wearing a fake top hat, while sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Waddles, who was also wearing a fake top hat. There was a toy table in front of him, with toy cups and a toy pitcher in front of him. The plastic on the toys was yellow, but due to all of the stickers and marker stains on them.

Mabel, wearing a green sweater with a bunny on it, had decided she wanted to have a tea party in her room, as the others were out doing errands. Being the only one left in the house, Bigby was forced to attend the party. Now, the Big Bad Wolf being forced to do anything, much less by a child, is laughable.

However, Mabel wasn't any ordinary child.

"Mister Waddles?" She asked in a bad, fake British accent. "Would you like more tea?"

The pig oinked. Bigby rolled his eyes, as Mabel poured some kind of liquid into Waddles' cup. The pet quickly lapped it up, making the wolf raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Uh, what exactly is that stuff?" Bigby asked.

Mabel beamed. "Truffle juice mixed with moss!" She told him, before eating a rice cake. She went to pour some to a panicked Bigby, but quickly realized that the pitcher was empty.

She shook it a few times. "Uh oh. All out. I'll go make some more!" She cheerily told him, before getting up from the floor, and running out of the room towards the kitchen.

The fable let out a sigh of relief, taking a drag of his smoke. He then looked over at Waddles. "Close one, huh?"

The pig just stared at him, before flopping onto its side.

Bigby sighed. "I miss Colin..." he said to himself, before taking out his phone. He quickly texted Wendy, who was working at the Gift Shop at the moment.

'STUCK AT MABEL TEA PARTY. HELP ME!'

He looked over at the pig again, who was just staring at him, still on his side. "I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure I hate you," the detective informed the pig.

Waddles didn't seem bothered by the news, as he started nibbling on a rice cake that fell on the floor.

Suddenly, Bigby's phone vibrated, receiving a text from the redhead. 'SHE'S DOWN HERE NOW. GET OUT WHILE U CAN!'

Taking the words to heart, Bigby quickly got to his feet, knocking the table over in the process and sending all of the contents on it to the floor. He was about to bolt from the room, before he guilt got the best of him, and he set the table back right again, before quickly putting everything back on it.

Waddles oinked at the display of kindness on Bigby's part. Bigby growled at the pig, only earning an empty stare. Bigby sighed, before petting the pig a few times. "Keep this between us," he said, earning another oink, before he sped out of the room, down the stairs, and out the house.

Bigby felt the sunlight rain down upon him, as he hid behind a large tree, kind of far from the Shack. He quickly texted Wendy again, ready for his day to really start.

'GREASY'S?'

A few seconds later, he got a text back.

'U BET. MEET U THERE.'

With a small smile, Bigby made his to the local diner, ready for his day to begin.

* * *

 _Present_

Bigby rocked back and forth slightly in his straightjacket, trying to get his thoughts clear. Where was he? Did anyone know he came here? Did anyone send him here? Why?

He was...he was the Big Bad Wolf. Right? No, that's ridiculous. Is it? Where's his friends?

Did he have friends? He remembers one. What was her name? She had red hair...a tomboy, could kick his ass if he wasn't careful.

Wendy? Where was Wendy?

* * *

 _Three Days Earlier_

Bigby was eating some pancakes and scrambled eggs, with a cup of black coffee. The usual when he went to Greasy's with Wendy. The Corduroy girl was eating some waffles and bacon, her usual when she went to the restaurant with Bigby.

"So, why don't the Pines come here again?" Bigby asked, a mouth full of food.

"Mabel set Stan up with Lazy Susan," she explained. "It didn't go well, so Stan just avoids this place like a police station. Dipper and Mabel still show up when they can."

Bigby chuckled. "Stan and Susan? Yeesh," he slightly joked, actually a bit disgusted at the thought of it.

"Tell me about it," Wendy replied, a small smile on her face. "So, how's the investigation going?"

Bigby frowned, as he took a sip of his coffee. "Lousy. I've hit a dead end."

"Can't use that Magic Mirror you got?" She asked.

Bigby shook his head. "The Mirror can only see specific things at a specific moment. Most of the time, the present. I can't just ask it super vague questions and expect an answer. Plus, I have a hard time coming up with rhymes."

Wendy scoffed. "Rhyming is super easy, dude."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really?"

"Prove it," Bigby challenged.

"I don't have to prove anything to you. Now excuse me, I might order the stew," Wendy said, smirking in victory.

"Stew?" The wolf asked.

"Hey, it's a rhyme."

"I guess it-"

Bigby cut himself off, as he saw something running past the window of the restaurant. Wendy seemed oblivious to it, but the Sheriff could see it clear as day.

A woman, with black hair, pale skin, pale blue eyes, wearing a white blouse and a black skirt.

"Snow?" Bigby asked himself, as he quickly got up from the booth, and out of the diner, leaving Wendy confused. He ran after what appeared to be his friend, who was running further into town.

He chased her down for a few blocks, before she turned a corner into an alley. Bigby followed, only to see that no one was in there.

"Snow?" He called, confused. "Snow! Where are you?" He gruffly asked, bewildered. Was he going crazy?

Suddenly, he felt something pierce his neck, making him jump away from the pain he suddenly felt. Before he could turn to face his attacker however, he suddenly felt faint, and fell hard to the concrete ground.

"Snow..." he groggily said, as he looked up, his vision slowly going black. He saw what appeared to be a woman in medicinal scrubs and a face mask, holding a syringe of some type of blue liquid.

"Not even close," she said, as Bigby's world went to black.


	17. Chapter 17: Feelin' Fine

The sun started to peek into the padded room, as Bigby was in a corner, asleep. Still in his straightjacket, he snored, the previous night's pleas taking a lot of his energy out of him.

Suddenly, the door opened, creaking loudly and waking up the confused wolf. He opened his eyes slightly, sensitive to the light that was shining on his face. He saw the outline of a man in the doorway.

"Mister Wolf?" The man asked.

"Wha-?" Bigby stammered, not quite aware of what was happening.

"Breakfast," The man said, before walking away, leaving the door open. Bigby stumbled up, trying to keep his balance as his arms were bound together.

"Breakfast..." He mumbled, as he shuffled out of the room, and into the dirty hallway. He was pretty hungry. He didn't really know how long he was in that room. He started walking, slowly and groggily, as he tried to recall how he ended up in this...filthy hovel, for lack of a better word.

He walked by some padded cells, some opened, most closed. He walked by one with claw marks decorating the walls, tearing the room apart. Did he...did he do that? How? He didn't have anything sharp on him. At least, not now.

He heard pounding on some of the doors, making the metal bang in protest. He heard the muffled screams of the patients inside, obviously in pain. He wishes he could help them, but right now, wasn't really sure how to help himself.

He finally got to the main room of the asylum, as he saw other patients, dressed in stained white shirts and stained white pants. A few of them looked familiar, as they were sitting on beat up chairs and couches, a few of them doing various activities. Some were watching an ancient television in the corner, some were reading slightly ruined books, and others were just sitting, unresponsive to the world around him.

An orderly walked up to Bigby, a mask over his mouth, and a hair cap on his head. He seemed to be smiling, happy to see the fable. "Hello, sir! Time for breakfast. Oh, sorry, it seems we forgot to get that straightjacket off you."

The orderly quickly opened up the jacket, and took it off the disheveled Sheriff, who was still confused. "Uh, thanks?"

"It's nothing. Now, how about you walk up to that counter over there and get yourself something to eat?" The orderly suggested, as he quickly disappeared from view. Bigby, confused, walked over to the line that was forming near the counter.

"Hiya!" The old man in front of him greeted, startling Bigby with his outburst.

"Uh, hi," Bigby responded.

"I'm Old Man McGucket!" He said, sticking his hand out. Even for the cleanliness standards of the asylum, this man had terrible hygiene.

"Um, I'm, uh...Wolf..." Bigby introduced, pinching the hand with two fingers and shaking like that.

"So, what did you do?" McGucket asked, as he played with his dirty white shirt.

"Do?" The sheriff asked, confused.

"Well yeah, do!" The old, crazed man exclaimed. "They got all of us for somethin'! Why, I reckon I'm in here cause of my past as a genius level scientist who worked on a laptop thingy to stop the apocalypse!"

Bigby looked at him blankly, not sure how to respond, or if he even wanted to respond. "Uh...ok..."

McGucket smiled, showing his mismatched teeth. "Yup! I also created a cult by accident! But you don't have to worry 'bout them no more, two chillens took 'em down!"

Bigby suddenly felt something buzz in his mind. "Two kids?" He asked, feeling like he should remember something.

"Uh huh! But you probably don't know 'bout them. Good kids! Maybe a little on the, weeeeeeird side," he drawled, as the two moved forward in line. As the sheriff pondered about what the old man said, he reached the counter, where another orderly was giving patients paper cups.

McGucket took his paper cup, which seemed to be filled with applesauce, and downed it all in one gulp. Suddenly, his body seemed to relax. "Oh golly," he quietly drawled. "That's some goooood breakfast..." With that, he wandered away.

Bigby raised an eyebrow as he also received a cup. He pilfered through it, to see some odd things inside. "Uh, excuse me?" He asked, getting the orderly's attention. "What is this stuff in the applesauce?"

"Medication," the man stated.

Bigby pulled out one of the objects inside. "This is a jellybean."

"Medication," the man repeated. "Now, stop holding up the line and eat your breakfast."

The fable took one last look at the man, before throwing the jellybean back in his applesauce, and walking away. He took a look around the room, to see the other patients who had already eaten their breakfast, acting extremely calm and docile.

He took a look at his breakfast again. Maybe he shouldn't eat this stuff.

* * *

"Bigby!?"

"Bigby!?"

"Scruffybottoms!?"

It was early in the morning, as Wendy, Dipper, and Mabel were searching for their missing friend. It's been three days since he disappeared, and the Pines family were starting to worry. The trio walked through the forest, hoping that that's where he went.

"Scruffybottoms?" Dipper asked his sister.

"It's a nickname I gave him," Mabel, who was wearing a blue sweater covered in fruit, stated. The other two just looked at her, skeptically. "I haven't actually said it to him though." The other two nodded in understanding, as they looked around the woods.

Wendy sighed. "This is pointless. There has to be a better way to do this."

Dipper thought for a second, before smacking his head. "We're idiots!" He declared.

"Why are we idiots?" Mabel asked.

"The mirror!" He exclaimed.

The girls thought about it for a moment, before getting smiles on their faces. "The mirror!" They said simultaneously, as the three then began running towards the Mystery Shack, where the answer to their problem potentially lives.

As they reached and entered the shack, they went straight towards the bathroom, to see Grunkle Stan talking to the Magic Mirror.

"So, can you tell me what stocks to invest in?" Stan asked, obviously trying to use the mirror for profit.

The Mirror rolled its eyes. "No, for the last time, I cannot."

"What about trends?" Stan persisted. "Can you tell me what these chumps will buy?"

"My power does not work like that," the Mirror stated. "Now, leave my presence, you and your silly hat."

Stan's eyes widened, a bit insulted at the comment. "This hat is NOT silly!" He defended, before he turned to see the three kids looking at him. "Ah, kids, what're you doing here."

"We need to use the mirror to find Bigby!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Bigby? He's still gone?" Stan gruffly asked.

"Yes!" Dipper exclaimed, a bit surprised at his great uncle. "Why are you so nonchalant about this?"

Stan shrugged. "Bigby's a wolf. I assume he just went out in the woods for a few days to relax or something. No need to be worried."

"Bigby wouldn't do that," Wendy argued.

Stan shrugged again. "Hey, if you want to use it, be my guest. But he's a jerk."

"I heard that," the Mirror stated.

"You were suppose to!" Stan shot back, before leaving the bathroom. The three then walked closer to the mirror, who looked at them with interest.

"How may I assist you?" The Mirror asked.

Dipper rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh, how does this work?" He questioned. "How do we, uh, use it?"

"You can ask me questions at any time," it stated. "Just please, use a rhyme."

"Uh, ok," Wendy began. "Mirror dude, on the bathroom wall, please...wait, that's not a rhyme."

"Oh! Oh!" Mabel exclaimed excitedly. "I got one! Mirror Mirror, be devout, where's Bigby hanging about?"

The Mirror smiled. "I like you," he stated, before fading away and showing an image of Bigby, wearing dirty white clothes, sitting in a chair, looking around as Old Man McGucket was calmly chattering to him.

"Where is that?" Dipper asked.

"The question is answered, that's all I can do," the Mirror stated. "Bigby stays in someplace new."

Wendy scratched her head. "That can't be too far away, if McGucket's there too," she reasoned. "But where is that?"

Dipper rubbed his chin. "Maybe if we go around town, we might see something about this place."

Wendy nodded, as the three went out of the bathroom, confused at what was going on.

* * *

"Well, what do ya know 'bout this place?"

Bigby sighed as McGucket kept asking him questions, the two sitting next to each other in neighboring chairs. "For the last time, no. I don't really know much of anything."

McGucket scratched his beard. "Is you an idiot?"

The fable's eyes flared up. "What!?"

"Well, if you was an idiot, that might explain why you don't know anythin'," The coot reasoned. "But you don't seems like an idiot to me."

Bigby calmed slightly, as he raised an eyebrow. The man did make a point. Even if it seemed like his own brain had rotted out a long time ago.

"Ya know," McGucket continued, "somethin' weird's going on here. You've been in town for a bit now, but you don't remember much. And my brain's fuzzier than my ex-raccoon wife. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE CHEATED ON ME!" He yelled, his medication seemingly warn off.

Bigby just ignored the old man, as a huge orderly came up to him, arms crossed, and his mask covered face distorted into a scowl. "What's going on here?" He gruffly asks.

"Nothing," Bigby answered, just as gruffly.

"That ain't what it sounds like," the orderly stated, looking at McGucket for a moment, before staring at Bigby's hands.

"What?" The Sheriff asked, noticing the look.

"You didn't eat your breakfast," he said, in a low voice.

Bigby looked down at his hand, to see the cup of applesauce he had received. He saw the jellybean and how the other patients reacted to it, for he just kept it with him out of curiosity's sake. "What about it?" He challenged.

"You're suppose to eat it."

"Wasn't hungry," Bigby shrugged, before feeling a hard fist hit him hard in the nose, knocking him and the chair over.

"Everyday we have to go through this," the orderly sighed, as he walked up to Bigby and kicked him hard in the stomach.

"Every...day?" He asked, not remembering how long he had actually stayed at the asylum. He doesn't remember something like this happening before. He quickly hopped back up, animalistic rage building up in him, as he was ready to tear the orderly apart.

Suddenly, an electric shock went through his body, as another orderly had hit him in the back with a Taser. He cried out in pain as he crumbled to the floor, only to get hit by another shock of the Taser. His vision was fading out, as he felt his body lose feeling.

"Throw him back in solitary. The padded room we had for him earlier," the first orderly ordered, his voice growing faint to Bigby. "Maybe this time, he'll learn his lesson."

Bigby passed out, not sure what was happening to him.


	18. Chapter 18: Therapy Session

"Nugh...wha...?"

Bigby woke up with a start, as he found himself in a padded cell, wearing a straightjacket, as sunlight flooded in. The door to the cell was open. He looked around, panicked, as he had no idea what was happening. Was he safe? Was he in danger? Was he...was he...

Was he what? Who was he? He was...something with a 'B'...Bigby...Bigby sounds familiar.

He slowly got up, doing his best to keep his balance, as he stood to his feet. He slowly limped out of the cell, his mind muddled, as he tried to remember something, anything, that would explain what was happening.

' _Time for breakfast, Mister Wolf.'_

That...that already happened. Just now. No, not now. Earlier. Right? He had no sense of time in this place. His head was throbbing, hurting, stinging. His vision was starting to blur, as he stumbled into the side of the wall next to him, breathing hard as his world started to spin. What was happening to him? Why was he here? Did he do something? This is an asylum, for crazy people. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy! HE WASN'T CRAZY!

He had shut his eyes, tight, before they fluttered open, as his head ached. He now found himself laying down on a long, red chair, in what appeared to be an office of some kind. The room was dark, making it hard to see all of his surroundings, but he could make out a few long bookshelves along the walls. The only light in the room was from an old brick fireplace, lit with a powerful flame.

"Where...?" Bigby grumbled, before realizing that he was still wrapped up in a straightjacket. He struggled for a few moments, uneasy, scared even, before realizing that it was pointless. He couldn't get out of it. Just like he couldn't get out of Mabel's tea parties.

Wait, what's a Mabel? Where did he know that word from? What about tea parties? He...he couldn't think straight. His memory was shot. He had no idea who he really was, why he was there, or how he got there.

Maybe...maybe he was crazy. It would explain a lot.

"Mister Wolf."

Bigby moved his head to the side, to see a wooden desk, with various bits and pieces of decorative items. Behind it, was a dark, shadowy figure.

"It's time for your therapy session," he calmly stated, as the figure pulled out a pocket watch. He held it by its chain, before he started to slowly swing it back and forth.

Bigby's eyes focused on it, as he felt his eyes start to get heavy. Eventually, he closed them, as darkness took over.

* * *

"What happened here?"

Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy were walking around town, only to see...nothing. The streets were empty, with no sign of life anywhere. The sidewalks were deserted, with the trio being the only ones out and about. The townspeople who commonly walked around were nowhere to be seen.

"Where is everyone?" Mabel asked. "Is there something going on right now? Like a festival or something?"

"Not that I know of," Wendy stated, her eyes squinted as she looked around. "This is weird."

"Maybe everyone thought it was too hot out today," Dipper reasoned.

"No," Wendy disagreed. "This never happens."

"We should figure out-"

"Look, let's just find Bigby, ok?" Wendy interrupted, still looking around. She then turned towards the twins, who were staring right at her. "I mean, he's a detective, he could figure this out."

"Uh, so could I," Dipper stated. "I've solved tons of the mysteries about Gravity Falls. Maybe we should focus on this first? I mean, Bigby can take care of himself. These people can't."

Mabel nodded her head in agreement. "Dip's right. It sucks, but maybe we should try to help with this."

"No!" Wendy yelled at the twins, making them freeze. "We find Bigby first. End of story."

The twins gave each other a look, confused. "Uh, Wendy...are you ok?" Dipper asked. "You seem kinda...stressed."

"Yeah, and not good stressed, like 'Soos watching Ducktective' stressed," Mabel added.

"Look, it's just...Bigby's our friend. And if he could get out of wherever he's at, then he would've. But he hasn't. And he's stuck somewhere, and we're the only ones who can get him out. Besides, he...it's my fault."

"Your fault?" Mabel asked. "How is it your fault? Did you spray him with a water bottle?"

"Mabel, Bigby's not a dog," Dipper reminded her.

"I know, but he really doesn't like it."

"No!" Wendy interrupted, getting short, before her face fell to a guilt ridden expression. "He disappeared when we were hanging out. He just ran out, and instead of following him, I just...waited. Because I thought he would come back." She looked to the ground. "But he didn't."

The twins frowned, feeling bad. Wendy didn't let on too often, but they both knew that she wasn't as carefree as she wanted to be. "Wendy," Dipper started, "It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"Bigby ran off," Mabel added. "It's not like you could've brought him back anyway."

Wendy just sighed, as she looked back at the twins. "I just want to find him. And the second we get him out, we have one more person helping us find everyone else." Wendy's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, we saw McGucket there."

Mabel furrowed her brow. "What?"

Dipper suddenly got where she was going. "Wherever Bigby is, so is everyone else. They're all in the same place."

"Are you sure?" Mabel asked, not buying it. "Maybe it's just McGucket and Bigby. Hanging out. Like old people and werewolves do."

"Mabel," Dipper started, "Do you honestly think that Bigby would willingly hang out with McGucket?"

Mabel rubbed her chin in thought for a second. "Hmm, no, he wouldn't..." The Pines sister then gasped loudly. "MCGUCKET KIDNAPPED BIGBY!"

"McGucket didn't kidnap anybody!" A new voice interjected, cutting the relative silence of the area and making the three jump, as they turned towards the source, to see the older face of the owner of Greasy's.

"Lazy Susan?" Dipper confusingly greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to find any stranglers and get them into my diner!" Susan exclaimed. "Ever since that doctor came into town, my restaurant has been losing way more money than I can afford. By the way, wanna eat some lunch? You'll get a free side for every meal."

Mabel's eyes lit up. "Ooooooh."

"Wait, doctor?" Wendy asked. "What doctor?"

Susan frowned deeply. "That no good Doctor Weston!" She revealed. "A few days back, this guy came into town claiming he was a doctor, and came to Gravity Falls because it was the most mentally disturbed town in the country!"

"He wasn't far off," Mabel stated, as Dipper nodded in agreement.

"He said he could help everyone!" She continued. "That we were all crazy, and could be a danger to whoever we loved, but he could stop that! He just needed volunteers!"

"And everyone just went with him?" Wendy asked.

"Well, first they gave him McGucket," Susan stated. "Poor fool was wearing a bucket for pants. I can't imagine that'd be comfy."

"And then everyone went with him," Dipper concluded.

"Pretty much," Susan confirmed, before rubbing her chin. "Although, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing some people go with him at first. They just kinda...disappeared. Either way, I have no idea where they all went. He didn't leave an address for his office or whatever the heck he called it."

"Like Bigby..." Wendy thought aloud.

"Is that that boy's name?" Susan said. "I've been meaning to say, good for you for moving on from that Robbie kid."

"Huh?" Wendy grunted, confused.

"You two practically prop up the place. You got yourself a cutie too. Maybe a bit too gruff for my taste, but hey, if you like him..."

"Whoa! Dude, hold up!" Wendy exclaimed. "Me and Bigby are NOT dating. Nuh uh. Just good friends. Friends that are opposite genders. A boy and a girl. That like to hang out together. As good friends. Yep."

Susan rolled her good eye. "If ya say so," she said, not believing the redhead as she walked away from the trio.

"Hey, I'm telling you the truth!" Wendy yelled after her. "Believe me! Believe meee!"

"Uh, Wendy?" Mabel asked, feeling a bit awkward at the display she just saw.

"Yeah girl?" Wendy responded, not looking at her.

"Can we go look for Bigby now?"

"That's a great idea."

* * *

"Where are you now, Mister Wolf?"

Bigby looked around at his surroundings in disbelief. He was in the High...the Homelands. Snow capped pine trees were all around him, as mounds and hills were covered in the sparkling substance, crunching under his feet. Snow lightly fell from the sky, being carried by the cold breeze that nipped at his skin.

He stood still, taking it all in. He never thought he'd see it again. "Home," he answered the voice, as he started to walk through the thick brush of the woods. He couldn't wrap his head around being back here. This was before everything.

Before he was Sheriff.

Before Fabletown.

Before Gravity Falls.

Where...? It doesn't matter. This was the first time in a long time that his mind was clear. He was going to take this opportunity for all it's worth.

"And where is home to you, Mister Wolf?"

"The Forest," he told the voice. "Where I lived when I was just a pup."

"Pup?"

"Yes. This is where I grew up."

"And how was your childhood?" The voice rang in his ears. "Was it nurturing?"

Bigby clenched his jaw, as he continued to walk through the woods. "No," he shortly responded.

"Can you describe your family?"

"I don't want to."

"Mister Wolf...please..."

Bigby sighed. "My father left before I was born. I was the runt of the litter, and my brothers couldn't care less about me. They called me the 'Big Bad Wolf', made fun of me, wouldn't care if I lived or died."

"And your mother?"

"My mother is the reason I'm alive," the fable admitted. "She loved me. She cared for me. She was...she was the only one..."

Bigby looked down at the ground, distraught, as memories started to take over his mind, destroying any peace he had felt.

"Mister Wolf, what happened to her?"

Bigby closed his eyes, fighting against his emotions. "She...she died."

Bigby opened his eyes, to see he was in a cave, and at his feet, was a dead wolf, and a small, distressed pup, staring at the body with a sad gaze.

"That is always very traumatic. Especially at such a young age."

"My brothers left. I never saw them again. But me..."

The pup nuzzled next to its dead mother, trying to stay warm from the rigid air.

"I wanted to protect her body," he said, looking down at the display, completely invisible to them.

"She wasn't given a proper burial?"

"We didn't get proper burials."

"...because you were wolves..."

"Right. Because we were wolves. The other fables didn't care. No one else cared. My father," Bigby snarled. "My father certainly didn't care. He didn't give a damn. We were nothing to no one. And then..."

Bigby felt tears threatening to escape, but he kept them in. "Then they took her."

Two men suddenly appeared, laughing and gaffing to each other, and ignoring the pup that was growling threateningly at him. They went to grab the body of the female wolf, only for the pup to lunge and bite the arm of one of them. The man groaned in slight pain, only to rip the pup off his arm and brutally throw him against the ground. The two men then grabbed the dead body, and carried it away, leaving the pup alone, hurt.

"Scavengers," Bigby cursed, fury flooding off of him. "They came and took her. I-I wasn't strong enough to defend her. To save her. But I would be. I made a promise to myself that day. I was going to kill something bigger each day. Until I was strong enough."

The pup changed before his eyes, turning from a harmless, tiny animal, into a gigantic beast of a wolf, its fangs snarled back, its yellow eyes dangerously narrowed.

"They wanted to ignore us!? Fine! I'll just make sure they couldn't ignore me ever again!" Bigby roared, as the large wolf in front of him howled in approval.

"What did you do next, Mister Wolf? Did you go through with your promise?"

Bigby started breathing heavily, the adrenaline of his memories starting to take over. "Yes, yes I did. I went to extremes at times. But I didn't care. I didn't care about anything I just went around...eating people."

"You ate people?"

"I ate fables. Scavengers, hunters, orcs, trolls, animals, anything, I ate them. I ate an old woman, and almost ate her granddaughter, until a Woodsman saved them. I found three pigs would lived near each other, all in different homes."

"So...you believe you are actually the Big Bad Wolf?"

"I am the Big Bad Wolf!" Bigby roared, his surroundings violently swirling around him, becoming impossible to distinguish what they are. "People are afraid of me! They should be! I'd kill them all! I would've! I would've if...if I didn't learn better."

His surroundings calmed down into an black void, as he stared in the face of a beautiful, graceful woman, with silky black hair, pale white skin, and stunning blue eyes. "I would've," Bigby admitted, the anger and fury he felt disappearing. "If she hadn't come along."

"She?"

"We were pushed out of our homes by an army," Bigby said, staring at the woman, trying to figure out if she could see him as well. "We fought them off for as long as we could. We met when it all started. I was getting tired of them, and I attacked a base, and she..."

Bigby walked around the woman, studying her as she seemed frozen in time. "She was taken prisoner by them. I saw her and I just...just froze. She had this...air to her. This scent. I just...couldn't do anything. She was so determined to get free. She was shackled and beaten down and she still tried to fight back." Bigby gave a slight chuckle. "She was never scared. Not for a second. She had gone through so much, and she didn't care. She knew who I was, and she didn't care."

"What did she do?" The voice asked, almost urgently.

"She shoved her shackles in my mouth. And I freed her."

The woman smiled kindly, as Bigby longingly stared at her.

"She gave me a way to look human. She gave me a second chance. She..."

Bigby shook his head.

"She cared."

"Did you love her, Bigby?"

Bigby went silent, as his eyes just lingered on the woman.

"Do you love her?"

"I...I don't know," he answered. "I was interested. She wasn't. Maybe...maybe I should move on. Maybe it'll be better that way."

"She taught you morals, it seems."

"She taught me..." Bigby trailed, as the woman started to fade away, and his surroundings started to change once more.

He found himself in his straightjacket, sitting alone in his padded cell, staring at the ceiling.

"She taught me how to be a man..."

* * *

"So how do we find him?"

The Pines twins were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking cans of Pitt soda, trying to figure out a game plan. They knew that a Doctor Weston had rounded most of the townspeople, and that Bigby was there as well. They are all still in town, they just don't know where. That is what they're trying to figure out now.

Dipper scratched his head. "I really don't know. Maybe we could...hmmm...no, that wouldn't work."

"Maybe we can make a smoke cloud out of his cigarettes!" Mabel suggested. "He'll be so drawn to it, he'll break out of wherever he's at and come to us!"

Dipper just stared at her for a second, before he rested his head on his hand. "I can't believe that's actually the best idea we have."

As the twins kept discussing what to do, Wendy snuck out of the kitchen, silently moving into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, before turning to the mirror on the wall.

"Uh, how do I wake him up?" Wendy asked herself, thinking aloud.

The glass on the mirror suddenly had a swirling green aura appear on it, before a face manifested from it. "You can just say hi."

Wendy jumped a little from the voice, before calming down. "Oh, uh, sorry dude. I'm still trying to get use to all of this, to be honest. I mean, Gravity Falls is weird, but fairy tales is kinda pushing it for me."

The Mirror smiled. "Do not worry, my dear. I won't be shedding any tears."

The teen gave a small smile. "Good to hear. So uh, how do you work again? Bigby explained but I forgot. No offense. "

"None taken. Just say what you seek, be it strong or weak," the magical face explained. "However, it would be appreciated if it could be said in a rhyme."

"Oh, not too hard. Ok. Mirror Mirror, if you don't mind, please, uh..." Wendy paused. "I was going somewhere with that. Ugh, crap! Please just show me where Bigby is!"

The Mirror just stared for a second. "Just like him. At least you didn't threaten me." The Mirror then swirled away, showing Bigby, sitting in his straightjacket, mumbling to himself in his padded cell. Wendy couldn't make sense of what he was saying, not being able to hear the words themselves. He was wide-eyed, looking around his cell, as he occasionally struggled against the jacket. He seemed confused. Depressed.

Scared.

Wendy suddenly got very worried. She had never seen, hell, she never even imagined Bigby in such a way. Staring at him, she had to wonder if he even knew what was going on. She didn't know what had happened to him.

She felt a pit of anger in her stomach. What did they do to him? That does not look like the Bigby she had known. He didn't have his gruffness, his sarcastic tendencies, or his heart. He didn't care, because he didn't know what to care about. He didn't have his bravery.

They stripped away everything that made him him.

The image then swirled away, showing the Mirror's face once more. "Would there be anything else?"

Wendy frowned deeply, seething slightly. "Is there anyway you can show me where he is?"

"Give me a name, and I will try."

Wendy was a bit surprised that it could be that easy. "Doctor Weston's compound," she told the mirror.

The Mirror frowned. "I cannot find a place by that name. The location you are looking for is not one and the same."

Wendy furrowed her brow. "What?" She asked, confused beyond belief. Maybe it went by a different name? Could that be it? She sighed, knowing that she could not find Bigby that way. "Show me...show me Doctor Weston."

The Mirror's frown stayed in place. "That...is strange..."

"What?" Wendy asked. "What's going on?"

The Mirror just looked at the redhead, trying to comprehend what is happening. "There is no Doctor Weston."


	19. Chapter 19: Escape from Crazytown

" _Examine him. Now."_

Bigby groaned in confusion at the voice, as he slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred. He still felt restrained, the straightjacket still wrapped tightly around him. He looked to see the distorted image of two orderlies, both wearing the pale blue scrubs and facemasks that Bigby had seen before, as they loomed over him in his padded cell.

" _You know how much of a risk this patient is,"_ the orderly continued, his voice sounding wavy to the fable's adjusting ears. " _We really can't afford to mess up the dosage. We can't have anymore close calls."_

" _Relax,"_ the other responded, as he held up a syringe of some kind of red fluid, " _he won't be much of a problem soon. Doctor Weston has the lobotomy station all ready for him."_

Bigby tried to make sense of what was happening. His head was foggy, aching as it tried to straighten out what was happening. He looked at the orderlies with glazed over eyes, as the syringe got closer and closer to him.

Suddenly, a loud screeching echoed from the halls outside, as Old Man McGucket ran past, yodeling in amusement, as a few more orderlies followed after him. "Patient is making a break for it!" One cried, making the orderlies in Bigby's cell freeze, turn, and then promptly following to catch the coot.

Bigby suddenly found himself alone, as he shook his head a bit, trying to clear the cobwebs. Things seemed to be getting...clearer. He was starting to put thoughts together. His confusion was starting to fade, replaced by a calm and quiet feeling of emptiness.

He...he was Bigby Wolf. Sheriff of Fabletown. Protector of the fables. The Big Bad Wolf.

And they...they kidnapped him. Drugged him. Kept him confused, scared, weak. Him and most of Gravity Falls.

Bigby gritted his teeth, fury suddenly replacing the calm, his memory flooding back to him. He thought he saw Snow, and they took him. They were injecting him with something. Doing experiments to him. He had flashing images of what they did to him. Needles piercing his skin. Flesh being ripped apart, blood being taken. His wrists shackled to a wall while they played around with his mind. Stuff that...that no one should endure. Had they been doing that to everyone? Were they going to break the rest of the town like they tried to break him?!

He growled, as he let his anger consume him. He was getting out of here. He was going to make these bastards pay.

The group of orderlies finally came back, holding a burlap sack that contained a struggling McGucket, who was yelling in protest. "You can't sack me like a potato! Not again!"

Bigby roared in pure rage, earning the orderlies' attention as the fable's claws ripped through the jacket, finally free from its constraints. The orderlies quickly charged at him, dropping McGucket hard to the floor. Bigby was ready however, as he quickly slashed at them with his claws, tearing through three of their chests one after another like tissue paper, blood staining the tips of them.

One of them quickly jabbed the syringe of sedatives at Bigby, only for the sheriff to dodge, and twist the orderly's arm, making him drop it. "You know what happens when you cage an animal?" Bigby asked.

The orderly stared at him with wide eyes, petrified.

"You know what happens when he gets out?" Bigby lowly growled, his eyes turning yellow. He let out an animalistic roar, before twisting the arm off completely from the orderly's body, making him cry in agony before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Bigby breathed heavily, his teeth bared back, as he saw the stains of crimson coating the pure white padding around him, blood pooling around the bodies, as his dirty white garb also had splashes of the red fluid on him. He calmed ever so slightly, his eyes turning white once more, as he made his way out of the cell, over to the burlap bag that was violently fidgeting.

"Lemme out!" McGucket cried, "Or I'll get my smackin' spoons on ya! Oh yeah, ya don't want that!"

"Calm down," Bigby sternly ordered, making the bag freeze. He quickly ripped it open, freeing the old man.

"Wolf!" McGucket exclaimed, happy. "Is it good to see ya! I just got off whatever funny stuff they had me on, and ya know, I don't think this place is all that it seems! These monsters can only be one thing and one thing only...vampires!"

"McGucket," Bigby shortly said, not in the mood for dealing with his craziness. "You need to get everyone out of here, now."

"How?" McGucket asked.

"I don't know!" Bigby roared, making him shrink back slightly. "Figure it out! If the drugs ain't effecting you anymore, and they aren't effecting me anymore, then that means it's not effecting anyone else either. Get them out."

"What're you gonna do?" The town fool asked, as Bigby started to walk away. "And did ya get strawberry jelly on ya? Ya ain't s'pose to wrestle jelly! You'll never win!"

"I'm gonna shut this place down," Bigby simply said, not looking back. "And I'm gonna kill everyone in it."

McGucket looked at the back of the fable in surprise, before deciding to listen to him. He ran off, trying to figure out a way to free the townspeople. Before the massacre starts.

* * *

"Wait, there isn't a Doctor Weston?"

Dipper and Mabel were sitting at the kitchen table of the Mystery Shack, as Wendy stood in front of them, slightly freaked out.

"No!" Wendy nearly shouted. "There's no Doctor Weston! The Mirror told me!"

"So, wait, who's the guy who took everyone?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know!" Wendy said, exasperated. "I can't ask the Mirror that. It goes beyond his powers or something. I hate magic."

"Alright, fake names usual mean shadiness," Mabel stated. "I should know. Dipper also knows me as 'Princess Vanilla Bean.'"

Dipper shuddered at the name. "The things that princess did." The mystery solver then tapped his chin, thinking. "Ok, we can't use the Mirror, and everyone still left in town has no idea where the doctor took everyone. How do we find him?"

"Oink."

The three turned to the side, to see Waddles wander in, a mushroom in his mouth. At the sight of the pig, Mabel gasped, as she quickly ran up to her pet, gleefully letting out a 'squee' as she picked him up, taking the mushroom out of his mouth. "Good boy!" She praised, rubbing her face against the pig.

"Uh, Mabel?" Wendy interrupted. "What's that?"

Mabel stopped, before she held out the mushroom. "This? Just a truffle. I trained Waddles to find them! I had him smell one and he just goes and gets them. I mix them with moss and make tea out of them."

"That sounds terrible, yet really not surprising," Dipper deadpanned.

Mabel stuck her tongue out for a second. "Bigby seemed to like it." She then thought about something. "Wait, did he actually have any...?"

"Wait," Dipper said, eyes going wide. "Waddles can track stuff?"

"Uh, yeah?" Mabel asked, not sure where this was going.

"Oh my god!" Wendy exclaimed, figuring it out. She quickly ran out of the room, leaving the twins behind. After a few seconds, she ran back in, holding a pack of Huff N Puffs. "Here, Waddles. Here Boy."

Waddles squirmed out of Mabel's hands, and walked up to the redhead. "Hey!" Mabel protested. "I don't care how stressed you are, do not make my pig smoke."

"What?" Wendy asked. "Dude, no, if Waddles can track things by smell, then maybe..."

Waddles sniffed the carton of smokes for a second, before letting out a squeal, locking onto the scent. He quickly ran out of the Mystery Shack, leaving the screen door banging behind him.

"Follow that pig!" Dipper cried, as the three quickly left the kitchen, and chased after Waddles. After all this time, they were finally going to get their friend back.

* * *

It's been a long time since Bigby has been this bloodthirsty.

He's been marching through the Asylum, wrecking the place, killing whoever wasn't originally from Gravity Falls. His eyes were bright yellow, his anger uncontrollable. Every step he took left a bloody footprint, as he hasn't been shy in shedding the crimson. It marked his already filthy clothes, and stained his claws red.

The last time he could remember doing anything similar to this was when he was still the monster in the Homelands. When he found some Adversary forces taking over a small village that he liked to steal cattle from.

He slaughtered everyone. Ate them all. They tasted bitter.

The only difference here was that he wasn't in his wolf form, and that he wasn't eating them. But there wasn't going to be any survivors. Not if he could help it.

Snow would be disgusted with him. Wendy would be too.

He's happy they weren't there.

Step after step, he felt his mind become clearer. They had him confused for so long. They had him pacified. He doesn't know why. If they had some special interest in him. If they learned anything they shouldn't of. He couldn't remember much. But what he did recall was enough to make his blood boil like never before.

He growled, as he smelt another orderly around the corner of the dilapidated building. The smell of a monster. They didn't even smell human to him. They smelt like this place. Evil and engineered. He took a quick moment to compose himself, as he was ready to pounce. He turned the corner, hunched slightly, only to quickly see a stampede of inmates, townsfolk, trample the man. McGucket was riding on top of the mass of humanity. "Give me Liberty, or give me my overalls back!" He yelled, as they quickly disappeared from sight.

Bigby calmed slightly, standing back up straight. He walked over to the orderly, to see he was unconscious, but hurt badly. He thought about what to do with him. He hasn't been sparing them, but they have also been attacking him. Can he really kill a defenseless man?

He stared hard at him for a few moments, contemplating. The things this man might of done...

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand quickly grabbing hold of his ankle. Bigby spun around, his claws ready to strike and his sharp teeth showing, only to see Toby Determined on the ground, bruised, his glasses broken.

"I was in the mob," he explained. "They stepped on me. Get me out, please."

Bigby groaned in annoyance, before he picked up Toby and chucked him out the nearest window. "Thaaaanks!" The reporter said, falling.

Bigby scratched his head. "Is there more than one story to this place? Eh, whatever," he thought aloud, moving on.

Bigby wandered down the main hall, as he finally came across large, twin doors. They seemed like they led somewhere important. Not giving it a second thought, with his emotions still raging in his head, he pushed them open.

To find...nothing. It was just a large, plain room, with nothing special about it. Confused, Bigby wandered in slightly, before having the doors slam shut behind him, making him jump and turn at the sound.

Suddenly, a click echoed through the air. _"You killed them."_

Bigby looked around, quickly realizing that the voice was coming from some speakers in the corners of the room.

 _"You killed them all. Didn't even give them a second thought. Just killed them all."_

"Who are you!?" Bigby snarled, tired of this.

 _"You were so interesting,"_ The voice continued. _"The mysterious stranger in town, hanging around with the people who have been causing a ruckus here lately, solving crimes, helping people. You should be thankful something like this hasn't happened to you already. Bad things happen to those who cause trouble."_

"What trouble have I caused!?" Bigby yelled. "Huh!? How the hell have I pissed you off!?"

 _"You can try to play innocent, Bigby. But we both know what you really are."_

The tiles of the ceiling crashed to the floor, as multiple upon multiple orderlies fell to the floor, all them staring at him with violent eyes, holding knives, syringes, and just shards of broken glass. They had surrounded him, obviously prepared. Bigby snarled at the sight, losing more and more of himself into his animalistic side.

His hair started to get thicker, and darker. His yellow eyes turned to blood red, as he grew in size, ripping his clothes. His shirt stretched its seams, before tearing right off of his body entirely. His pants ripped at the bottoms, clinging tightly to him now. His claws grew sharper, his teeth grew longer.

Bigby stood before the orderlies, who seemed surprised at the sight. Before them wasn't a man anymore. Now he was a werewolf.

Bigby roared, staring at his foes. They weren't so confident anymore. He could smell their fear. It was almost intoxicating to him.

Without warning, they all charged at him at once, letting out a sort of battle cry as they did so. They started to jump on top of him, one after one, stabbing at him with their weapons. Bigby didn't seemed phased by the attacks, or the wounds they were leaving behind. He shoved them all off, before going on the assault. He was a blur of dark fur, as he moved around the room, ripping them apart. Blood flew through the air, as he slashed at them. Claw marks littered their bodies, as Bigby went on a rampage.

One tried to grab onto his arm, only to be effortlessly thrown into a group of three, knocking them all out. The werewolf quickly pounced on them, finishing the job.

He panted heavily, crimson staining his body, and only some of it being his own. His fur started to recede, as the fable started shrinking back down to his normal form, shirtless and bloody. He looked around the room, to see that the orderlies were all dead. He was the last man standing.

" _The Big Bad Wolf,"_ the voice piped up again. _"I thought you were just crazy. All those therapy sessions, when you were too out of it to lie. All of those stories. And they're actually true."_

Bigby slowly started to recover from the fight, getting his breath back. He listened intently on the loudspeaker.

 _"Look what you did."_

Out of nowhere, Bigby suddenly felt something sharp pierce his neck, as a slender arm wrapped itself around his throat. He grabbed its owner behind him, as he slammed them down to the floor in front of him. In one quick movement, he buried his claws in the person's gut, making them let out a sharp gasp.

Bigby finally saw who it was. It was the woman. The one from the beginning of all of this. The one he had mistaken for Snow. She was just wearing scrubs, her face covered by the mask the other orderlies wore. She had a piece of jagged metal in her hand, for all the good it did her.

But Bigby looked at her closely. She looked familiar. After a moment of studying her, Bigby tentatively reached for her mask. He grabbed it, and ripped it off.

He gasped in terror, as the woman he saw looked exactly like Snow White. With her pale skin, pale blue eyes, and natural beauty, their was no mistaken that it was her. Except for one thing. Her smell. The one that Bigby knew all too well. It was...off.

 _"I want you to know, this isn't what a normal man does."_

Bigby slowly turned around, as he stared at the bodies of the other orderlies. They all had the same build. He walked up to the one closest to him, and tore his mask off, to see his own, dead face.

He did the same to another one. And another. And another. They were clones. Of him.

 _"A normal man doesn't kill everyone in sight."_

Bigby stared at the sight before him in shock and confusion. They were all him. Exact copies. He had just killed himself. Over and over. The lifeless eyes of the bodies seemed to stare at him, almost as if asking him 'why'.

" _A normal man, when he gets angry, doesn't go on a murderous rampage. He doesn't destroy everything in sight."_

He looked away from the sight of his lifeless corpse, not being able to take it. But his eyes went back to a worse sight.

The spark of life that Snow had. The determination in her eyes, the ambition on her face, the general sense that she wanted to do what was right for the fables. All of that was gone, as the clone just laid there, eyes open, mouth agape, blood trickling down on the ground. Even though it wasn't really her, he...he had...

" _You didn't even hesitate. You just did it. Like you've always done. You've lied to yourself that you've changed, but we both know you haven't."_

Bigby fell to his knees, as he slowly picked up the fake Snow's body. The sight was haunting to him. What if she had no choice but to attack him? What if all of them didn't have a choice?

 _"How many innocent people have you killed? How many families have you broken apart? How many lives have you ruined just because you can't control your insane urges?"_

He killed Snow White. He killed himself. And he didn't have to.

 _"We both know who you really are, Bigby."_

Bigby closed his eyes, as he nestled his head in the crook of Snow's shoulder. The woman who taught him how to be a man. The woman he failed today.

" _You're a monster."_

* * *

Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy had finally found the asylum. The large building sat atop a cliff, ominously looming over the forested land around it. It looked menacing and uninviting, as the dark, grey sky only amplified the feeling. The three were standing only a few yards away, not seeing anyone actually guarding it.

Waddles oinked at it, telling his owner that Bigby was inside. "Gotcha," Mabel responded. "Thanks, baby."

"Ok," Dipper started, formulating a plan to break in. "Mabel, you use your grappling hook on one of the windows to get in. You sneak back to the front door, and-"

Dipper was cut off as the front doors to the large building were flung open, making the three put their guard up. However, they slowly lowered it, as they saw who it was. And then quickly got concerned when they saw the state he was in.

Bigby Wolf, shirtless, shoeless, bloody, and with a far away look in his eye. His face had an unreadable expression etched onto it, as it was obvious that he was not ok.

Waddles screeched in terror, making the others jump.

Dipper and Mabel couldn't quite make out what was happening. "Is that Bigby?" Mabel asked.

"You two need to go home," Wendy said, still shocked at the sight of her friend.

"What!?" Dipper cried. "But we need to figure out-"

"I said GO!" Wendy yelled, desperate to get them out. The twins were stunned at the redhead, before they slowly backed away from the scene, making their way back home, Waddles following close behind. When they were out of sight, Wendy sighed deeply, as the fable got closer and closer to her.

"Bigby...?" Wendy carefully asked. "Are you...?"

Bigby walked up to her, and just silently stared at the redhead, that same expression on his face.

"What happened?" She quietly asked him, as his gaze lowered to the ground.

He clenched his jaw, silent, as he looked at the teenager's hand, to see her carrying a pack of Huff N Puffs. Wordlessly, he snatched it away from her, opening it and throwing one in his mouth. "You got a light?" He asked, shoving the rest in his ripped pants pocket.

Wendy was taken aback by the question, not expecting that to be the first thing out of Bigby's mouth. Nonetheless, she pulled a lighter out of her pocket, handing it to her friend.

He almost desperately lit his smoke, taking a huge drag as he took a few steps away from Wendy, blowing out a cloud of smoke and tobacco. "How did you find me?" He almost demanded, not bothering to look at her.

Wendy crossed her arms, getting annoyed. "Turns out that Mabel taught Waddles to track scents. I'm just happy she uses her powers for good," she weakly joked, not thrilled with the way Bigby's acting.

If he did notice her frustration, he didn't acknowledge it. He just took another drag of his cigarette, before he started walking away from her with purpose.

Wendy, surprised, quickly followed behind him, as he walked deeper into the woods. "Bigby!? Where the hell are you going!?" She called.

"The shack," He simply stated, not even giving her a glance.

"But...but...we have to get the others!" Wendy told him. "We have to go back and-"

"NO," Bigby cut off, short and angry. He stopped in place, whipping his head towards Wendy. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, with narrowed eyes. Wendy showed no fear. No sign of stepping down. After a few moments, Bigby merely sighed. "There's nothing there. Not anymore. Everyone got out."

Wendy seemed to relax a little, as Bigby calmed slightly, still a bit on edge. "Bigby, what happened in there? Please..."

Bigby silently smoked, contemplating. "I...someone who called himself Doctor Weston took most of the townspeople."

"I know," Wendy told him. "We were able to figure that out. There wasn't a Doctor Weston."

"Right," Bigby nodded. "I don't know what he wanted with them. I was able to get out and free them."

"Do you have any idea why they were taken?" Wendy asked. "What they were doing?"

Bigby thought hard, as cheap smoke filled his sense. How much should he tell her? How much did he want to relive? "I...they did experiments on me. I don't know what exactly they did. I looked around to see if they did it to anyone else, but...I couldn't find anything. I think I was the only one."

Wendy's eyes widened at the news, as she was concerned for her friend. "You weren't able to find anything else?" She softly asked.

Bigby closed his eyes, images of his dead body haunting him. The lifeless look of Snow...

"No. No I wasn't."

The two simply looked at each other, a million thoughts flying between them. The overbearing silence hung in the air, covering the pair with an uncertainty that neither one have felt in a long time. Feeling that the conversation between them was over, Bigby turned back around, as Wendy just stood still.

After a few steps, Wendy couldn't help but call out. "Bigby?"

Bigby stopped, one hand on his smoke, the other in his pocket.

"Whose blood is that?" She asked, scared for her friend, in more ways than one.

Bigby clenched his jaw again. "Mine," he honestly answered, as he walked away, hoping to leave everything that happened in the past week behind him.


	20. Chapter 20: The Start of a Long Night

"Bigby? BIIIIIGBY!?"

It was another summer day at the Mystery Shack, as Mabel, dressed in a pink unicorn sweater, repeatedly knocked on the door to Bigby's room, not getting a response at all.

"Come oooooon!" She exclaimed, in the special way that only she could, "You've been in there for days! How about you come out and have a dance party with your old friend Mabel? Huh?" She then lifted a radio that was right next to her. "I have the tunes ready!"

The solid wood door in front of her gave no response, the fable on the other side being dead quiet. Mabel slumped her shoulders, a frown on her face. Bigby had isolated himself in his room ever since his stay at Doctor Weston's asylum, not talking to anyone since he had returned. He hadn't left the room since he had came back, not interacting with any of his friends. Late at night the Pines family can hear some creaking, no doubt Bigby ransacking the kitchen for the food he had denied himself for the rest of the day.

Mabel, quite frankly, had had enough. She was about to knock again, as her Grunkle Stan walked up in his casual wear. "Wolfly still in there?" He asked, looking at his niece.

She sighed. "Yep. I think he's pouting in there. I'm good with these kinds of things."

Stan stared half-lidded at her for a second. "Uh huh," he deadpanned. He then leaned on the wall next to the door, knocking on it as he did. "Bigby, it's Stan. Listen, I know you're all sad and junk, but I got to know. Where are you going to the bathroom? I know you're a wolf, but you better not have gone on my floors! I have standards for this place!"

Suddenly running in, Soos slide in front of the door, interrupting Stan and making him move out of the way. "Sorry Mister Pines, but Biggs needs his bro!" He announced. "Alright dude, I know what'll get you out of there!" He then pulled out a deck of cards, and fluttered them open, spreading them out in his hands. "Magic tricks! Everyone loves magic tricks! Pick a card!" He said, as he held the cards out to the door.

The door, in response, didn't move.

"Ok, I'll pick for you," he simply said, as he grabbed one card at random, before putting it back in the same spot and shuffling. He then pulled out a card, putting it in front of him. "Is this your card!?" He said, in an exaggerated magician's voice.

The door was still unmoving.

"Oh right, you need to see it," he deduced, as he shoved the card under the door. "Is this your card, dude?"

After a few seconds, the card flew back from under the door, completely torn apart.

Soos frowned. "I guess magic isn't for everyone. Dang, I was going to pull Gompers out of a hat."

The sound of a goat was heard from the other room.

"We're going with Plan B, furry dude!" He called, running out of the hall. "Get the instruments!"

Mabel groaned. "This sucks," she complained, putting the boom box down and crossing her arms.

"What sucks?"

Mabel and Stan turned to see Dipper and Wendy walk over, curious as to what's going on.

Mabel huffed. "Bigby still won't come out of his room. And I'm starting to miss hanging out with his doofus face. Where were you guys?" She asked.

"Watching bad horror films," Dipper answered, as he walked over to the door, and knocked on it. "Bigby?" He inquired. "Hey, you know we're here for you, right? Please come out and talk to us."

Wendy groaned. "Come on, dude," she said, pushing Dipper out of the way. "He doesn't want to come out. If he did we'd have seen him." She then banged on the door. "Hey, bro! I know you can hear me! Look, I don't know what happened, but I know you're not in a good place right now. I get that it's tough. But please, can you just let me in so we can talk? It can be just me and you."

There was nothing but silence in response.

Wendy thought for a moment. "I'll buy you some pancakes from Greasy's..." she tempted, a grin on her face.

For a moment, the door was still. Then, very slowly, it creaked open, leaving only enough space for Wendy to get through. She hesitated for a second, to give a thumbs up to her friends, before walking in, the door closing behind her.

Mabel gasped in happiness, a huge smile going across her face. "CELEBATORY DANCE PARTY!" She screeched, as she touched the play button on the boom box, having it play loud techno music. She excitedly danced, as Dipper watched on in amusement, slightly bobbing his head to the music and smiling. "WE DID IT, OH YEAH, EMOTIONAL PROGRESS, YEAH!" The 12 year old girl yelled, triumphant.

"Haha, yeah!" Dipper agreed, starting to dance a little as well.

Suddenly, the door opened again, only for a shoe to fly out and hit the boombox, breaking it, making the music slightly distort until it faded away. The door closed again, leaving the twins to just look at the broken radio.

"You know, we should really be used to this by now," Dipper stated, as Mabel nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Ok, man, thanks for letting me-whoa!"

Wendy stared wide eyed at the room in front of her, as she wasn't expecting this. Papers and books were strewn about the floor, couch, and tables of the room, as plates and scraps of food littered around next to them. There was a giant corkboard in the middle of the room, with multiple pictures and post it notes on it, some of it being connected by red string. Bigby stood in front of it, looking at it with intent, a determined look in his eyes, and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Uh, jeez, what's going on Bigby?" Wendy asked, concerned.

"Something weird's going on," he simply said, not looking at her as he took a drag of his smoke.

Wendy crossed her arms. "Uh, dude, this is Gravity Falls. I saw ghosts and we only stopped them because of Dipper in a lamb costume. Something weird's always going on."

"Yeah, but...wait, lamb costume?" Bigby asked, slightly caught up on it. "Never mind, you can explain later. But I mean something really weird is going on right now. Hell, just me being here proves it."

He walked over to a table stand to pick up a piece of paper, as he turned to show it to Wendy. "Does this look familiar to you?" He asked.

Wendy looked at it, to see a symbol scribbled in red ink, a triangle with a single eye, a hat, and a pair of arms and legs. "Uh, kinda. I'm not sure what it is though."

"Really?" Bigby asked, his face never changing emotion as he held the paper up. "Because this symbol keeps popping up. I keep seeing it wherever I go, and after Weston..."

Bigby went silent for a moment, as he looked at the ground for a split second, before turning and walking back towards the cork board, placing the paper in the middle with a push pin. "They showed me this image," Bigby stated. "It's one of the few things I remember from those sick bastards' treatments. They kept showing this to me. And I don't have the proof, but, I think this has something to do with how I got here, and why."

Wendy furrowed her brow. "Bigby..."

"The Northwest mansion, I had a vision," he revealed. "This symbol was alive, he was destroying everything around him. Everything was burning to the ground, people were screaming everywhere, and this...thing, this all powerful being, was just laughing about it."

Wendy frowned, as she walked up to Bigby, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Dude, you need to relax," she stated, as she took a closer look at the sheriff's face, obviously tired and worn down. "You look terrible."

"Thanks," he sarcastically said, before looking back at the board. "Maybe I should have Dipper look at this..."

"No, seriously, when was the last time you slept instead of working on this?" She asked.

Bigby merely shrugged.

"Bigby, I swear to God, if you don't tell me I'm going to tie you up and hand you over to Mabel," she threatened. "And she has a slumber party tonight."

Bigby glared at his friend. "I hate you sometimes."

Wendy smirked. "Spill it."

The sheriff sighed. "Three days."

"Dude!"

"This is important!"

"So is sleep!" The lumberjack's daughter argued. "Here's what you're going to do. You're going to take a quick nap on that couch, and then you're going out tonight."

Bigby raised an eyebrow. "To do what?"

"You're coming out with me and my friends. We're going to hang out," she told him, matter-of-factly.

Bigby's eyes widened. "To do what!?" He asked, annoyed.

"Uh, party?" Wendy said. "Duh."

"Do I look like the partying type?" He asked, as he took a drag of his smoke. Suddenly, his cigarette was snatched out of his hand, and put out in a nearby ashtray. "Hey!" He complained.

Wendy then grabbed Bigby by his loose tie, getting him closer to her face. "Does it look like I care?" She questioned, an unimpressed look on her face.

The two stared at each other, neither one wanting to be the first to talk. After about a full minute of quiet, Bigby finally broke. "No," he begrudged.

Wendy then released Bigby's tie, as he immediately straightened it. "That's what I thought. See ya tonight!" She called, as she exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

Bigby was left alone again, this time more aggravated than anything else. He gave a deep sigh, as he realized the redhead had a point. The lack of sleep wasn't anything new for him, but the stress from this might be clouding his judgment. A nap might help him relax. Until he had to deal with mundy teenagers.

He went over to the couch, shoving the papers that were covering it off, before plopping down on it, finally laying down. He immediately felt exhausted, as his adrenaline from his curiosity had finally given up on him. He felt his eyes grow heavy, as he took one last look at the cork board, with all of his findings facing him.

His last view before his eyes closed was of that damned triangle.

* * *

 **"SO, YOU CAN'T GET MY HANDSOME MUG OUT OF YOUR HEAD, HUH? CAN'T SAY I BLAME YA!"**

 **"COME ON, WOLFY. YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGURE THIS OUT? EVEN WITH PINE TREE AND SHOOTING STAR, YOU'RE HOPELESS."**

 **"A DAY WILL COME IN THE FUTURE WHERE EVERYTHING YOU CARE ABOUT WILL CHANGE."**

 **"DON'T WORRY THOUGH, WE CAN HANG OUT WHENEVER YOU WANT. IN FACT, _I'LL BE SEEING YOU REAL SOON. HAHAHAHAHhahHAHAHAHAhaahahHAhahah!"_**

* * *

 **"** AH!" Bigby awoke with a start, panting heavily as he sat up on the couch, looking around. The light flooding the room made Bigby think that it was almost sunset, as he took a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

Was is just a bad dream, or...?

He looked over at the cork board, staring daggers at the symbol on it. He looked at it long and hard, an intense hatred bubbling in him just from the thought of it. He grabbed a nearby cover, and threw it over the cork board, not being able to look at it anymore. With a calming breath, he fixed up his hair a bit, straightened his tie once more, and left his room for the first time in days.

The light blinded him, being much brighter than what he was dealing with in his room. He put his hand in front of his face, trying to block some of it out, as he stumbled down the hall, still a little groggy from his nap. He had a long yawn, as he shook his head, starting to finally wake up.

He walked into the living room, to see Stan sitting in his chair, watching TV along with Mabel. He glanced over at Bigby. "Oh, hey Wolfy," he greeted, immediately turning his attention back to his show. "Wanna grab some sodas and watch TV with us? I heard they're having a sale at the store. No diet."

Mabel, on the other hand, jumped to her feet, and charged as fast as she could at Bigby, knocking the air out of him when she hugged him. "BIGBY!" She happily cried, "OH MY GOSH ITS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!"

Bigby couldn't help but smirk. "Heh, nice to see you too, kid," he said, as he patted her head.

She let go enough to look up at him, a large, beaming, brace covered smile on her face. "Oh, just in time! I'm having a sleepover! In fact, my friends should be coming riiiiiight abooooout..."

There was a loud knock on the door, echoing through the shack.

"Now!" Mabel finished, as she dragged Bigby over to the front door. She opened it up, to show two preteen girls standing behind it. "Candy! Grenda!" She squealed.

"Mabel!" Her friends simulatanously greeted, as they all got into a group hug. After a few seconds, the two friends opened their eyes, staring at the stranger behind Mabel.

"Uh, Mabel?" Candy meekly said. "Who is that behind you?"

"Oh, that's just Bigby," she said, as the three girls looked over at him, who was completely oblivious to them. He had lost interest and decided to play around with his phone.

"Whoa!" Grenda deeply exclaimed. "We have a level ten hotness alert!"

"He is so rough but beautiful," Candy agreed. "I will have him."

"What? Wait, no," Mabel denied. "Come on guys, he's a really good friend and he lives with us, it'd be weird."

"He lives here!?" Grenda almost yelled, before Mabel put a hand over her mouth to shush her.

"Will you keep it down?" Mabel scolded. "Besides, why do you care? Aren't you still seeing that duke?"

"He knows I do what I want," Grenda told her, crossing her arms.

Bigby finally walked back over, putting his phone in his pocket. "So, these are your friends?" He asked Mabel.

"Yep!" Mabel confirmed. "This is-"

"I'm Grenda!" The large child interrupted. "I can fit seventeen rocks into my mouth! I'm great!"

Bigby simply stared at her. "O...k...and who's this?"

"/ _You are a flawed masterpiece and I will take you far away/_ ," Candy said in Korean.

"Uh, what did she say?" Bigby asked Mabel.

"It's not important," the 12 year old insisted. "Wanna join us? We're going to watch reality TV and do glitter makeovers to each other!"

Bigby went quiet. "That's...nice...but I apparently have plans."

"Really?" Mabel skeptically asked.

"Sadly, yeah," he said. "Wendy's making me go out with her."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Wait, what!?" She yelled. "Oh, actually, hold up," she calmly said, as she quickly left the room, and came back with a glass of water. She took a couple of sips, before spitting it out in surprise. "WAIT, WHAT!?"

Bigby stared at her, his face wet from her little spit take. His eyes narrowed into a glare. "That was unnecessary."

Mabel chuckled, nervously. "Heh, sorry. But, come on! You two are going out!?"

"Why are you acting so..." Bigby started, but trailed off. He thought for a moment, before he connected it, having it click in his brain. "Oh! No! Not like that! She's not going out with me like that! I mean, we're hanging out, but it's with her friends."

Mabel squinted at Bigby. "And...do you want to hang out with them?"

Bigby shook his head. "Are you kidding? Mundy teenagers are terrible."

"So, Wendy is terrible?"

"What!? No, of course not, she's great, she's-"

Bigby cut himself off as he looked down at Mabel, who was smiling ear to ear.

Bigby narrowed his eyes. "Drop it," he ordered.

"But-!"

Bigby snarled "Drop. It."

Mabel stopped talking, as she pulled out a giant sticker that said 'HUSH!" on it, before sticking it on her mouth.

"See you later," he said, as he started to walk out, passing by the two friends that were still by the door. "Girls," he grunted, as he finally left.

Candy and Grenda looked at each other, before squealing to themselves. Mabel looked at them, getting a bit closer, making them go quiet and look at each other with wide eyes. Mabel then removed the sticker from her mouth, still looking at her friends. After a quick moment, they held each other, and started squealing again while jumping up and down.

"Mabel!" Grunkle Stan called from the other room. "Get the broom! That bat is still stuck in the ceiling!" He then walked into the hall with the girls, a can of soda in hand as he scratched his back. "Oh, it's just you. What're you doing here?"

Mabel furrowed her brow. "Uh, Grunkle Stan?" She asked. "Don't you remember? We talked about this."

"Remember wha-?" Realization then hit Stan, his eyes widened in fear as he dropped his can of soda. "No. No! Not a-"

"SLEEPOVER!" The girls screamed at the same time.

Stan placed his hands on his head. "NOOOOOOOO!" He cried in despair, knowing that he was in for a long night.

* * *

"This is a terrible idea."

The sun was starting to set over the sleepy town of Gravity Falls, as Bigby and Wendy walked side by side through the town. Less and less people were on the streets by the minute, going home and getting ready to rest, as the last orange flickers of light from the day danced along the streets.

"Dude," Wendy groaned. "Relax. Or shut up, either or."

"I'm just letting you know," Bigby said, as he pulled his carton of Huff N' Puffs out. "When this all goes to hell, and you're standing there like 'Oh, how could this have possibly gone as terribly as it did,' just know that I called it."

The tomboy smirked. "You done yet?" She chided.

"Can I go back to the shack?" Bigby asked.

"No."

"Then no," he simply stated, as he smacked the carton on the back of his head, sticking one of his cigarettes in his mouth.

Wendy looked at him for a second, a smile on her face, as the sheriff fumbled around for his lighter. "You know, I have no idea how more people don't say anything to you."

"About what?" He asked, finally finding his lighter.

"The fact that you smoke," she clarified. "I mean, you look like a teenager. But you're allowed to smoke?"

"Have you seen the police around here?" Bigby pointed out. "They're worse than the mall cops."

Wendy laughed. "Yeah, they arrested you immediately for smoking."

Bigby blushed slightly. "I didn't see the sign!" He huffed, embarrassed.

"Haha! Stan was so mad when he had to bail you out!" She fondly remembered, starting to laugh hysterically. "And we ran so fast when he chased us. If you didn't trip we would've gotten away."

Bigby took a drag of his smoke, flicking some ashes off, before looking over at the laughing redhead. He smiled, the sight of her happy being contagious. "It was pretty fun," he said, chuckling a bit. "The look on your face when he yelled at us was priceless."

She laughed, punching him in the shoulder, having him push her shoulder in response. After a few moments like that, they reached the cemetery, as Bigby stopped in front of the entrance, while Wendy kept walking. However, she quickly realized that Bigby wasn't following her, causing her to double back for her friend. "Hey man, what's up?"

Bigby blew out some smoke, before sighing. "I really don't think I should do this," he admitted. "I ain't the social type."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Dude, come on," she pestered, as she grabbed his arm and started to drag him into the cemetery. "You'll be fine. You're a cool guy! I'm sure you'll get along just fine with them."

The two then came across a group of four teenagers, all hanging around as one of them were slightly hunched over, sticking his head out. "Come on, Nate!" Lee pressured. "Hit me as hard as you can!"

"Sure thing, dude!" Nate said, as he picked up a small, loose tombstone, and whacked his best friend in the head with it. Lee fell right to the ground, flat on his back, as the others looked down at him, guffawing at the blonde teen. After a second, Lee dazedly sat up, a big smile on his face.

"That was awesome!" He said, throwing his arms up in the air, as the others followed suit, cheering.

Wendy looked at Bigby, trepid to see his reaction. He was unimpressed, a large frown on his face, watching the group of mundies. "Uh...so?" She asked.

"I hate them already," he simply stated, smoking away. This wasn't going to be fun.


	21. Chapter 21: Nighttime Fun

"Wendy, who's this guy?"

Bigby was standing in the middle of the Gravity Falls cemetery, silently smoking his cigarette as he stared with slight disdain at the teenagers in front of him. He studied them, noting their appearances and behaviors, as he had started to have them pegged. Mundy teenagers weren't complicated, at least not the normal ones.

Wendy definitely wasn't normal.

"Guys, this is Bigby," Wendy introduced, gesturing towards her friend. "Bigby, these are the guys. Lee, Nate, Tambry, and Robbie. Oh yeah, and Thompson."

"Hey dude!" Thompson greeted, as he held his hand out towards the fable. "It's, uh, really nice, to, uh..." Thompson trailed off, noticing that Bigby was just glaring at the hand, silently smoking.

After a small, but tense, pause, Bigby flicked off some ashes. "Let me guess," he said. "Slightly awkward kid who was able to make friends but is constantly worried that they're going to find out that he isn't cool. Right?"

"W-what?" Thompson stuttered. "N-no man, I'm cool! Right guys? Right?"

Tambry sighed, annoyed. "Shut up, Thompson," she demanded, not looking away from her phone.

"B-but...ooh..." Thompson slumped over, dejected.

"You're the stereotypical millennial who's obsessed with her phone," Bigby pointed out to the teenager with the dyed streak in her hair.

"It's better than talking to you," she said, snarky.

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual," Bigby stated, taking a drag of his smoke.

Lee leaned over to Nate. "He isn't nearly as cool as Wendy's other friends," he whispered.

Nate leaned back to his best friend. "Yeah, I miss Mister Fun Times," he whispered back.

"I can hear you!" Bigby growled, making the two bros jump back.

"Ok," Nate whispered to his friend, "That's pretty cool."

"Totally."

Bigby rolled his eyes, already getting fed up with this. He should've just stayed home and saved himself the trouble.

Wendy tapped Bigby on the shoulder. "Bigby, you promised you'd be nice," she reminded.

"I never promised that," Bigby retorted.

"Just do it before I punch you," Wendy threatened, putting her fist up.

Bigby stared at her for a second, before sighing, and looking back at the other teenagers. "I'm sorry. I've had a rough couple of days and I'm not use to this."

Nate and Lee looked at each other, before shrugging. "Eh, it's cool man," Lee dismissed. "After all, we're just a bunch of teenagers swimming in hormones."

Nate snickered. "You're a hormone."

"DUDE I'LL KILL YOU!" Lee shouted, before punching his friend in the face, knocking him over. Lee than jumped on Nate, as the two started wrestling along the ground of the graveyard, yelling at each other as they did so.

Bigby slumped his shoulders, frustrated at the display, and how his night was apparently going to go. At least it seemed like the two brawlers accepted him. He took a drag of his smoke, as he noticed Thompson and Tambry next to him, with Thompson twiddling his thumbs nervously and Tambry texting.

"I still think you seem cool," Thompson stated, shakily, turning towards Bigby.

The fable looked at him. "Thanks," he said.

"I don't," Tambry said, not looking away from her phone.

Bigby just smoked away. "Ok. I'm not going to follow you on social media."

Tambry stopped texting, and looked at the sheriff. "You're a monster." She then nodded her head. "Respect," she said, going back to her phone.

Bigby smirked slightly, as he looked over at Wendy, who gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Bigby felt a little proud of himself that he was able to socialize with her friends. Maybe he wouldn't hate this after all.

"Come on Tamb, don't try to be nice to this loser."

Nope. He's gonna hate this. He saw Robbie come over to his girlfriend, putting an arm around Tambry's shoulders, as the goth gave him a glare. "And you're Robbie," Bigby said, annoyed at the teen.

"Yes I am," Robbie confirmed. "I'm, uh, sure you've heard of me. I'm the guy behind those explosion marks all over town."

"Oh, you mean the muffins?" The sheriff asked, as Wendy walked closer to him.

"They're not-! Oh, never mind," Robbie groaned. "By the way, I dated Wendy."

Bigby looked over at the redhead, who had her arms crossed, and a frown on her freckled face. Bigby then faced Robbie again. "Cool?" He asked, confused about why he would bring it up like that. He looked at Tambry, who seemed unfazed and uninterested in the conversation.

"Yeah, it lasted a bit," Robbie added, now seeming like he was trying to get a rise out of Wendy.

"Well, everyone makes mistakes," Bigby replied. "Some of them are stupid, some of them are goth."

Lee and Nate, who were still fighting, froze in place, as they stared at the confrontation. "Oooooh..." Nate groaned in shock.

"Duuuude," Lee agreed. "You just got buuuuurned."

Robbie frowned deeply, as he and Bigby stared each other down, the anger in the air palpable. Bigby would love nothing more than to just rip this guy apart, and at least for the moment, it seemed Wendy agreed with him, rage radiating off her as well.

"Uh, guys?" Thompson interrupted, coming in between them. "Can we get going?"

"SHUT UP THOMPSON!" The feuding guys yelled simultaneously at the meager teen, making him curl back.

"He does have a point," Tambry, emotionless, stated, still looking at her phone. "We're suppose to go to that shack in the woods."

"Yeah!" Lee exclaimed. "We need to go! Shack! Shack! Shack!"

Nate soon joined in on the chanting, the two getting into it. "SHACK! SHACK! SHACK!"

Bigby turned to his friend. "We're not going to the Mystery Shack, are we?"

"No," Wendy shook her head.

"Because Mabel has a sleepover."

"Oh, I know."

"She's been practicing her makeovers on the pig. Waddles had eyeliner for a week."

"I know, we're not going anywhere near that mess," Wendy confirmed. "There's a shack that was the house of a suspected witch. Legend has it she turned all of her neighbors into toads, then ate them in a stew."

"Really?" Bigby asked. "What happened to her?"

"Heh, what's the matter?" Robbie questioned. "Scared?"

"A mob came for her to burn her at the stake," Wendy continued. "But she disappeared before they could get her. We're gonna check it out."

Bigby furrowed his brow. "Are you sure we should do that?"

"Ha! You heard him!" Robbie exclaimed. "He's a chicken!"

Thompson started shaking. "But, he seems super tough. And if he's scared, what about us?"

"Eh, forget it Thompson, he's lame," Lee said.

"He's not lame," Wendy dismissed. "And he sure isn't scared. I've seen him do a lot of crazy stuff."

"Pfft," Robbie scoffed. "Like what?"

Bigby raised an eyebrow at the goth, memories flooding in his head. Since he came to Gravity Falls, he's fought fire monsters, dealt with eccentric and crazy millionaires, made a magic potion to summon a magic mirror to him, been chased by gnomes, fought a coyote, suffered a game of Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons with Dipper, and had a tea party with Mabel. Plus there was the Asylum...

No. Not going to think about that. Instead, he just stared at the self-proclaimed musician. "I don't like talking about myself. People who're self-conscious talk about themselves. Ain't that right, 'Wendy's ex'?"

Robbie's face went red, as the group started walking towards Thompson's car. Wendy playfully punched Bigby's arm, a smile on her face as she clearly appreciated the gesture. The group of teens started chanting 'SHACK!' over and over, as they were ready for the night to begin.

* * *

"Oh, where is she?"

Mabel was looking out the window in the Mystery Shack's living room, slightly frowning, as Grenda and Candy were smearing lipstick on each others' faces, laughing. They paused for a second, as they looked over at their host. "Come on, Mabel!" Grenda called. "Get in on this! This is the best lipstick war we've ever had and you're missing it!"

"I will defeat you with my mauve fury," Candy playfully threatened, before jumping at her friend again as the two started giggling uncontrollably.

"Sorry guys," Mabel apologized. "It's just that I invited someone else and they aren't here yet."

Grenda and Candy suddenly stopped, dropping their lipstick on the floor. "Whoa, what!?" Grenda shouted, getting to her feet, a shocked expression on her face. "There's going to be someone else!?"

Mabel smiled, nervously. "Heh heh, yeah, did I forget to mention that?"

"Mabel!" Candy scolded. "Why would you keep something like this from your friends?"

"I didn't know how you guys would react!" Mabel defended. "But she's actually pretty nice and I think she should hang out with us!"

"I am shocked and offended!" Grenda bellowed. "Why would you keep this from us!? If she's cool, then we're cool!"

Mabel blinked. "You guys aren't mad?"

Candy shook her head. "No, we are more than welcome to the idea of more people being our friends."

"That's great!" Mabel exclaimed, before wrapping them both in a hug. "You guys are the best!" She told them, as the two hugged her back.

"Ahem."

The three turned to the door, to see none other than Pacifica Northwest, holding a very large, purple suitcase behind her, her shades covering her eyes. "Can you at least wait before I get through the door before you guys act like freaks?" She asked.

Grenda and Candy raised an eyebrow, as Mabel widely smiled. "Pacifica!" She squealed, as she ran up and hugged the heiress.

Pacifica's eyes bulged slightly, as she was visibly uncomfortable. After a second, the blonde then pushed the Pines girl off of her. "We are sooooo not there yet," she stated, before she looked at her mane. "I swear if you mess up my hair..."

Grenda and Candy stared slack-jawed at the heiress, as Pacifica was feeling more and creeped out. "Uh, yeah? Can I help you?" the newcomer asked.

The two other girls looked at each other in shock, before getting large smiles on their faces. Grenda then turned to Pacifica. "Welcome to the sisterhood!" She bellowed.

Pacifica raised an eyebrow. "The sisterhood?"

The other three girls nodded their heads, before raising their shirts right above their bellies, to show that each one had a smilely face painted on in red. "The sisterhood!" They simultaneously said in pride. Pacifica stared quietly at the display, before her eye twitched slightly. She was starting to regret her decision to come here.

"Hey Mabel!" Grunkle Stan called from the other room, walking towards the living room. "Have you seen my back scratch-"

He cut himself off as he looked at the sight of the three girls and their smile bellies. He blinked a few times, before turning his head. "Soos! Grab your toolbox, we're getting the heck out of this house!" He called.

"Yes sir, Mister Pines!" Soos excitedly called back.

Pacifica sighed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"SHACK! SHACK! SHACK! SHACK!"

Thompson's van was cruising down the streets of Gravity Falls, the sleepy town completely covered by the dead of night. Thompson himself was driving the van full of reckless teenagers, as he was joined up front by Robbie and Tambry, with Robbie on the seat itself and his girlfriend on his lap, still playing on her phone. In the middle seats were Nate and Lee, joking around and shoving each other.

In the far back seats were Bigby and Wendy, who were kind of squished together because of how small the seats actually were. Both weren't exactly happy with how the night was going so far, as both had their arms crossed. A lit cigarette hung lazily in Bigby's lips, as he had hoped it would take the edge off.

"Uh, hey, dude?" Thompson called from the front, looking in his rear view mirror at Bigby. "Can you please put that out? My mom doesn't like it when people smoke in her car."

Bigby glared at the driver for a second, before taking the smoke out of his mouth, and putting it out on the ceiling of the van, leaving a little burn mark before he flicked it out a nearby window.

"Uh, thanks...I guess..." Thompson sheepishly said.

Bigby leaned on his fist, still deeply regretting his decision. Why the hell did he agree to this? He knew it wouldn't of worked out, he knew he would get irritable, and worst case scenario, he'll kill one of these mundys. So why the hell did he say yes?

Oh yeah, because of Wendy. But why does it matter that she asked? People ask him to do stuff all the time, and if he doesn't want to do it, then he isn't going to do it. Soos asked him to come over to his house and play video games, and he didn't do it. Dipper asked to help him find something called the Hide Behind in the forest, and he didn't do it. Mabel asked him to model a sweater she was working on, and he didn't do it...willingly.

They all asked him to come out of his room when he got back to the Mystery Shack, and he didn't do it.

Until Wendy asked him to do it.

So why the hell is she so special?

He glanced over at the subject of his thoughts, to see her slumped over, obviously frustrated with something.

"What's with you?" The fable asked, before following her line of sight, to see that she was staring at Robbie and Tambry, who were obviously flirting with each other. Bigby cocked an eyebrow at that. "Are you feeling weird because of them?"

Wendy scoffed. "No, it's just...I have no idea what's going on with Robbie. I thought we were cool and that we could just be friends again, but now it seems like he's trying to rile me up for some reason."

"Did he do anything like this before?" Bigby asked.

Wendy frowned slightly. "Kinda. He and Dipper had this weird feud going when Dip had that crush on me. I don't think they realized how obvious they were about."

"Well, guys tend to lack subtlety," Bigby stated, matter of fact.

Wendy smirked at him. "Oh really? I haven't noticed."

The sheriff noticed the look in her eyes. "What's that suppose to mean?" He smiled back.

"Nothing."

Bigby chuckled slightly. "Like you're the queen of subtlety. One of the first times I talked to you, you threatened me."

"And five minutes later you smacked a fire monster with a tree," she shot back.

"Heh. Good times."

"Yeah..."

The two went quiet for a moment, as they looked out opposite windows. Bigby suddenly felt awkward, and he wasn't sure why. He took a quick glance back at the redhead, who was still looking away, before he went back to his window. "Hey..." he started.

Wendy turned back to to him. "Yeah?"

"I just...want to say thanks," he said, before turning towards the lumberjack's daughter.

She got a slightly confused look on her face, furrowing her brow. "For what?"

"Just for...you know..."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "No, I don't, that's why I asked."

Bigby gave a short, exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm not good with this stuff. Just...thanks for getting me out of the room and, ya know, caring about me, I guess."

Wendy's eyes widened for a second, as she was genuinely taken aback from Bigby's words. She then got a small smile on her face, as she looked at her feet for a split second. "If you try to hug me, I'm going to punch you."

Bigby smiled. "Don't flatter yourself," he joked, as the two just tried to enjoy the ride to the shack.

* * *

"Grenda! Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!"

The sleepover had really gotten started, as the girls were all wearing their pajamas, and sitting in a circle on the living room floor. They were surrounded by multiple snacks and bottles of soda, as they were deep into a game of truth or dare.

"Umm..." Candy said, tapping her chin. "Oh! I dare you to stick this potato chip up your nose," she stated, picking up one of the salty snacks.

"Ha! That's easy!" Grenda exclaimed, snatching the chip from her friend, and promptly sticking it up her nose. After a few seconds however, her confident smile fell, as she started flailing in pain. "AH! IT'S RUFFLED!" She cried, as she fell over onto the floor trying to take it out.

The other girls exploded with laughter, as Mabel and Candy openly showed their amusement, while Pacifica was trying hard to conceal her laughter, not wanting to ruin her "cool" image. While it has already been a really strange night, Pacifica was starting to loosen up, and she was beginning to open up a bit more.

After a few seconds, Grenda was able to get the chip out, before throwing it as far away from her as possible. She cleared her throat, before getting back to the game. "Alright! My turn! Mabel, truth or dare?"

The hyperactive girl hummed to herself in thought, before making a decision. "Truth!"

Grenda smirked. "Alright, who was the last boy you dated?"

Candy gave a knowing grin. "I bet it was that hunk that lives here."

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Bigby?" She asked. "I already told you guys, no. But there was this boy I met the other day."

"Oooooh..." Grenda and Candy exclaimed simultaneously, as Pacifica herself perked up, interested.

"Yeah, he was this really cute, athletic type boy. But he turned out to be a ghost that was stuck in a circus since the 1800's."

Grenda and Candy went quiet, as they stared at their friend. After a few seconds, Candy turned towards Grenda. "You don't think your boyfriend's a ghost, do you?"

Grenda thought for a moment. "I hope not."

Pacifica scoffed at the Pines girl. "I hope you're not still stuck on that guy. It's been like, what, 2 weeks?"

Mabel narrowed her eyes at the heiress. "So? It takes a while to get over something like that."

"You deal with something like that all the time though," Pacifica argued. "It isn't even the first time you dealt with ghosts this summer."

"That doesn't matter, it still sucked. I really liked him."

"Pfft, you barely knew him, and then tried to join the circus to be with him."

Mabel was starting to get frustrated. "Like you've never done anything crazy because you really like someone?"

Pacifica gave an arrogant smirk. "Nope. Boys try to impress me, not the other way around. It's the Northwest way."

Mabel gave her a suspicious look, before realization flashed on her face, and a devious grin started to develop. "Oh really?" She asked, in a sing song tone.

Pacifica was confused by the sudden change in the other girl's tone of voice. "Uh, yeah?"

"If you say so. Truth or dare?" Mabel asked, a victorious look on her face.

Pacifica froze, completely forgetting that it was Mabel's turn in the game. Her mind went into panic mode, as she quickly realized the position she was in. The heiress had witnessed the close friends almost torture each other with their dares all night. She shudders to think what Mabel would do to her if she picked dare after getting her mad.

Her hands were tied, and she had a feeling that Mabel knew that. "...Truth..." Pacifica reluctantly answered.

Mabel had that same look on her face. "Do you have a crush on Dipper?"

Pacifica's face immediately burned bright red, as Grenda and Candy exclaimed "Oooooooh" yet again. The blonde's eyes widened, as she fell silent.

Mabel crossed her arms, still smirking. "Well? You have to answer, that's the game."

"I...um...I-I just...I don't think..." Pacifica stammered. "H-how dare you even accuse me of...I-I don't...I mean..."

The conversation was cut short as they heard the front door open, and then close again. The four girls looked towards the noise, to see Dipper walking back in, journal in hand, looking a little tired and a little disappointed.

"Hey, Dipping Sauce!" Mabel greeted, as Dipper looked surprised at the sight in the living room.

"Uh, hi girls," he greeted, before noticing Pacifica. "Pacifica? What's going on?" He asked, confused.

"We're having a sleepover!" Mabel exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "What were you doing?"

"I was looking for this berry that can turn your skin green," Dipper said, "but I didn't find it. And then I got chased by a raccoon."

Mabel suddenly got a slightly panicked look on her face. "Was it wearing pink lipstick!?"

Dipper shook his head.

Mabel calmed down in response. "Good," she almost said to herself, with suspicious eyes. "He hasn't decided to come after my family. Yet."

Dipper sighed. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Goodnight."

"Wait, Dipper!" Grenda aggressively called. "Why don't you hang out with us for a bit?"

Pacifica gave a huge glare towards the large girl, as she quickly caught on to what she was trying to do.

"Eh, I appreciate it, but-"

Dipper was quickly cut off by his twin. "Oh come on Bro Bro! It'll be fun! And it'll take your mind off of that apple."

"Berry."

"Whatever, it's a stupid fruit!" Mabel dismissed.

Dipper thought for a moment, before shrugging. "Alright, why not? Just let me change into my pajamas."

"Sure thing!" Mabel said, as Dipper then turned and started to make his way upstairs. "We'll have some brownies waiting for you!" She called after him.

Once the girls were sure the boy was out of earshot, they all turned towards Pacifica, with knowing looks on their faces. Grenda beemed, as she wrapped a strong arm around the rich girl. "You're welcome, buddy!"

Pacifica silently stewed in anger, as she couldn't stop herself from glaring at Grenda. And just when she thought she was going to enjoy herself.


End file.
